First session: 96 runs at 2.73 runs per over. Second session: 102 at 7.20. Third session: 73 at 1.91. The vastly varying scoring rates that Test cricket allows were on vivid display as the game meandered in the morning, before South Africa stepped on it post-lunch in search of a declaration, after which India's batsmen put up a backs-to-the-wall display in the murky light at Kingsmead.

Despite the fluctuating run-rates, it was a day on which South Africa progressively increased their advantage, first taking a substantial lead and then prising out the Indian openers. India face a fight for survival on the final day of the series.

The morning was all about one man. Jacques Kallis slowly and steadily made his way to an emotional farewell century, his 45th in Test cricket, went past Rahul Dravid to become the third highest run-getter in Tests and gradually pushed India towards an unwinnable position.

The sentiments involved were clearly evident early in the day itself, when nightwatchman Dale Steyn hugged Kallis after a miscommunication over a single. No South African wanted to be remembered as the person responsible for causing Kallis to be dismissed in his final Test, especially not before he reached a century.

In that session, it seemed as if both teams were waiting for the other to make the play. South Africa weren't playing with the intent of setting up a declaration, and India were content sitting back and limiting the runs with an increasingly ragged ball which was used for as long as 146 overs.

The bowling was almost entirely about one man too. Ravindra Jadeja bowled unchanged for half the day in a marathon 25-over spell as he provided the control India were searching for. Jadeja also finally broke the stubborn 86-run partnership between Kallis and Steyn by getting Kallis to top edge a slog sweep and complete his five-for.

As Kallis walked back, there were poignant scenes. The Sunday crowd saluted him with a standing ovation, the South African team greeted him with hugs outside the pavilion, and the captain Graeme Smith kissed him on his head.

There wasn't too much initiative from South Africa even after that dismissal, but a short rain break after lunch shook things up. Robin Peterson and Faf du Plessis came out looking to play the big shots, and in the first three overs they plundered 29 runs - almost as many had been made in 16 overs leading to lunch.

India were clueless against the adventurous batsmen, and the flood of runs continued after the umpires finally forced a ball change midway through the session. Peterson galloped to a half-century off 44 balls, and the highlight of his innings was a stunning switch hit over the right-hander's long-on for six. Du Plessis was marginally slower, playing more orthodox but equally eye-catching strokes - such as a gentle flick over mid-on off Mohammed Shami - and in little time the lead had ballooned past 150.

Peterson perished going for another big hit to end a partnership of 110 off 108 balls, and the rains returned to cut the session short, giving time for Smith to mull over whether it was time to declare. The decision was taken out of his hands when play resumed as Jadeja ran to his right and dived to secure Morne Morkel's leading edge to take six for the match and end the innings.

That left India needing to bat out about two-and-a-half hours on the day. Steyn and Vernon Philander turned in a high-intensity spell with the new ball. Steyn harried the batsmen with the short ball but couldn't get the breakthrough as he delivered 5-4-1-0. Philander had been ineffective in the first innings but had more impact this time as he set up Vijay perfectly - a series of short balls, followed by the fuller one which Vijay nicked through to slip after taking only half a step forward.

Shikhar Dhawan, who has had a mediocre tour so far, survived the initial examination, constantly urging himself to concentrate, and leaving as many deliveries as he could. Cheteshwar Pujara was struck on the armpit with a vicious bouncer early on but slowly he gained a measure of the pitch.

The light wasn't great in the evening, but not so poor that they could come off with a significant chunk of the session still left to play. India would have wanted this on the first day when they were dominant, instead of today but Dhawan and Pujara were showing signs that they could make it through till stumps. That feeling grew as the umpires deemed that only spinners could bowl in the fading light.

Dhawan though went for a big hit off Robin Peterson, only to see du Plessis at short midwicket pull off one of the catches of the year with a one-handed leaping effort. India's best batsmen, Pujara and Virat Kohli, were in the middle at stumps, and how long their partnership lasts could determine the course of the match tomorrow.

Ultra-defensive batting could backfire for Team India. South Africa are effectively only 3 wickets away from victory as Pujara, Kohli and Rahane are the only Indian batsmen who have batted well in this series and are in good form. Once South Africa gets the fifth Indian wicket, a victory for South Africa will become inevitable as Rohit, Dhoni and India's lower order are like sitting ducks for Steyn, Morkel and Philander anyway.

on December 29, 2013, 17:49 GMT

To win a test match, you need to take 20 wickets. And for that, you need quality bowlers, which, India lack. Jadeja bowled really well but face the reality, this is one of the most spin-friendly pitch outside sub-continent. Never expect such from any of the tours coming up. India batsmen sure proved themselves (atleast some of them) but, they alone aren't going to win them any.

on December 29, 2013, 17:44 GMT

Swing bowling is not going to work in South Africa and Australia. Its Pace, pace and pace. We(india) need bowlers who can consistently bowl 140 kph and swing the ball. Dhoni has to stop waiting for Batsmen to make a mistake. Don't think waiting game will work in bowling. Field placements should be brilliant as you can also make a batsmen get out in mid wicket, square leg for the kind of bowlers India have. Steve Waugh did it with Damien Fleming who was not quicker through the air. At least selected Jadeja which was a good decision who was quicker though the air.

His-Highness
on December 30, 2013, 11:34 GMT

Another disgraceful umpiring decision. Its piling up now against India. Well done ICC. Hopefully BCCI will get the message and start using DRS.

VinodGupte
on December 30, 2013, 11:10 GMT

congratulations to SA on a well deserved victory. i think some indian fans were too cocky after the first day totally ignoring the fact that they were going to be bowled at by three top-ICC-ranked bowlers one more time. it was the brilliance of kohli, pujara and rahane that we had something to celebrate on this tour. just like the 90s when the brilliance of SRT or RSD gave us something to cheer about. apart from these three, the rest of the team failed. more prominent failures were MSD himself (kick him out of the test team while touring), dhawan and as expected nohit sharma. dhawan will stop twirling his moustache forever and nohit sharma will never try to sledge. jadeja should be rapped on his knuckles for throwing his wicket.

Harmony111
on December 30, 2013, 10:55 GMT

@TommytuckerSaffa:

Come on, what are you talking about? How was Dhoni wrong in not taking the new ball? You saying so does not make it wrong. I am talking about consistency in logic. If what Steyn did on Day one was not wrong cos SA got their own tactics then doesn't India have the right of having their own tactics? Tactics may work or fail, but employing tactics is another thing.

I am sure you still haven't got the point. Let me repeat it. How can you say Dhoni was wrong without seeing what SA did on Day One?

As for Kallis' slow inning, yours is quite a ridiculous justification. Was Jadeja bowling so well that Kallis had to score at 36 SR? In any case, career SR of Kallis is 45, this is way below the SR of the truly great batsmen such as Sachin & Ponting. It seems Kallis has always been a slow, boring scorer & here he decided to go even slower so that he could get his 100. There is no other justification.

on December 30, 2013, 10:48 GMT

one bad overseas series doesnt prove anything...india though close to a series loss showed many positives in this series...on the fast and bouncy pitches of sa against world best attack a largely inexperienced and young side played better than predicted by many...and if it hadnt been for d wrong decision on d first ball today...india wud have never lost dis match...and let sa cum to india...its going to be a worse margin...

His-Highness
on December 30, 2013, 10:43 GMT

@SA Fan South Africa are undeserving winners should they win this match. Umpiring has been disgraceful and fully in favour of SA. 4 plumb lbw's not given yesterday against SA and a disgraceful stumping of Peterson not given. If India didn't have to get SA batsmen out twice, they would be right in this game. Maybe the ICC want to force India into using DRS. SA always need the umpires help to win against India. This is not the 1st time they have gotten a raw deal. A few years back, SA were on the ropes when Ashwell Prince came in to bat. He edged a ball that almost went to 1st slip but was given not out. He went on to get a 100 and change the match situation. Disgraceful Proteas. Undeserving!

what I dont understand is why everyone is hating on india. SA Won this series well done, congratulations. but if you're the no.1 team why expect less? and if you are saying indias crap then why are you surprised that India lost?? chill out its only a GAME that none of you participate in..

anupkeni
on December 29, 2013, 18:59 GMT

Ultra-defensive batting could backfire for Team India. South Africa are effectively only 3 wickets away from victory as Pujara, Kohli and Rahane are the only Indian batsmen who have batted well in this series and are in good form. Once South Africa gets the fifth Indian wicket, a victory for South Africa will become inevitable as Rohit, Dhoni and India's lower order are like sitting ducks for Steyn, Morkel and Philander anyway.

on December 29, 2013, 17:49 GMT

To win a test match, you need to take 20 wickets. And for that, you need quality bowlers, which, India lack. Jadeja bowled really well but face the reality, this is one of the most spin-friendly pitch outside sub-continent. Never expect such from any of the tours coming up. India batsmen sure proved themselves (atleast some of them) but, they alone aren't going to win them any.

on December 29, 2013, 17:44 GMT

Swing bowling is not going to work in South Africa and Australia. Its Pace, pace and pace. We(india) need bowlers who can consistently bowl 140 kph and swing the ball. Dhoni has to stop waiting for Batsmen to make a mistake. Don't think waiting game will work in bowling. Field placements should be brilliant as you can also make a batsmen get out in mid wicket, square leg for the kind of bowlers India have. Steve Waugh did it with Damien Fleming who was not quicker through the air. At least selected Jadeja which was a good decision who was quicker though the air.

His-Highness
on December 30, 2013, 11:34 GMT

Another disgraceful umpiring decision. Its piling up now against India. Well done ICC. Hopefully BCCI will get the message and start using DRS.

VinodGupte
on December 30, 2013, 11:10 GMT

congratulations to SA on a well deserved victory. i think some indian fans were too cocky after the first day totally ignoring the fact that they were going to be bowled at by three top-ICC-ranked bowlers one more time. it was the brilliance of kohli, pujara and rahane that we had something to celebrate on this tour. just like the 90s when the brilliance of SRT or RSD gave us something to cheer about. apart from these three, the rest of the team failed. more prominent failures were MSD himself (kick him out of the test team while touring), dhawan and as expected nohit sharma. dhawan will stop twirling his moustache forever and nohit sharma will never try to sledge. jadeja should be rapped on his knuckles for throwing his wicket.

Harmony111
on December 30, 2013, 10:55 GMT

@TommytuckerSaffa:

Come on, what are you talking about? How was Dhoni wrong in not taking the new ball? You saying so does not make it wrong. I am talking about consistency in logic. If what Steyn did on Day one was not wrong cos SA got their own tactics then doesn't India have the right of having their own tactics? Tactics may work or fail, but employing tactics is another thing.

I am sure you still haven't got the point. Let me repeat it. How can you say Dhoni was wrong without seeing what SA did on Day One?

As for Kallis' slow inning, yours is quite a ridiculous justification. Was Jadeja bowling so well that Kallis had to score at 36 SR? In any case, career SR of Kallis is 45, this is way below the SR of the truly great batsmen such as Sachin & Ponting. It seems Kallis has always been a slow, boring scorer & here he decided to go even slower so that he could get his 100. There is no other justification.

on December 30, 2013, 10:48 GMT

one bad overseas series doesnt prove anything...india though close to a series loss showed many positives in this series...on the fast and bouncy pitches of sa against world best attack a largely inexperienced and young side played better than predicted by many...and if it hadnt been for d wrong decision on d first ball today...india wud have never lost dis match...and let sa cum to india...its going to be a worse margin...

His-Highness
on December 30, 2013, 10:43 GMT

@SA Fan South Africa are undeserving winners should they win this match. Umpiring has been disgraceful and fully in favour of SA. 4 plumb lbw's not given yesterday against SA and a disgraceful stumping of Peterson not given. If India didn't have to get SA batsmen out twice, they would be right in this game. Maybe the ICC want to force India into using DRS. SA always need the umpires help to win against India. This is not the 1st time they have gotten a raw deal. A few years back, SA were on the ropes when Ashwell Prince came in to bat. He edged a ball that almost went to 1st slip but was given not out. He went on to get a 100 and change the match situation. Disgraceful Proteas. Undeserving!

what I dont understand is why everyone is hating on india. SA Won this series well done, congratulations. but if you're the no.1 team why expect less? and if you are saying indias crap then why are you surprised that India lost?? chill out its only a GAME that none of you participate in..

Capricorn60
on December 30, 2013, 10:26 GMT

As expected, Dhoni's defensive strategy of yesterday has back-fired & now we are going to get thrashed today. Not taking the new ball first thing in the morning yesterday just not to leak runs was just a morale boost to the SA team. No wonder even their bowlers slaughtered our useless & mediocre pace bowling!
Although it pains me to say this as a die-hard Indian fan, it is perhaps good that we get thrashed today as only then something will be done in getting rid of the 'deadwood' from our team & trying to nurture some young genuinely fast & talented bowlers. Our batting & fielding has been seen to be very good but we will nearly always get soundly beaten when playing abroad if we don't have good & hostile fast bowlers too.

sundersingh
on December 30, 2013, 10:19 GMT

I am really proud of this young team, showing lots of courage and fight towards SA on the first time.. One bad decision costs us... better luck Team India. we r always with u...

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 30, 2013, 10:06 GMT

Disappointing fight from India. And to think they were 181/1 on day one...

SA_FAN315
on December 30, 2013, 10:00 GMT

SA has shown better batting, bowling and fielding performance......
i still remember the Indian dressing room all cheery when Zaheer was swinging his bat against STYEN in the second innings of the first test and now again now seeing the Indian dressing room...the look on the face of the Indian player in the dressing room is priceless.......... Tisk Tisk Tisk not even a worthy opponent to the no.1 test side.... hope AUS can preform better than this.....It's getting boring to watch the series..SA dominating the whole series...very one sided

sundersingh
on December 30, 2013, 9:57 GMT

One bad decision (virat dismissal) leads to the downfall of the team and loss of the series... PLEASE take decision On DRS -- BCCI

SA_FAN315
on December 30, 2013, 9:53 GMT

SA has won a series in INDIA against INDIA ....for all the people who still believe that IND has the smallest of small chance of beating SA in IND....now all the indian supporters can raise your voice against the BCCI....i belive that BCCI has a big hand in INDIA's performance abroad....having financial muscle can't guarantee your teams performance.....Haroon Lorgat must be the happiest man right now .....if only BCCI could look eye to eye now with Lorgat ........

on December 30, 2013, 9:52 GMT

now that's y they are called legends....a perfect gift for kallis.

Mervo
on December 30, 2013, 9:51 GMT

India were always in for a reality check, out of India, and their ranking is sure to fall. They really should prepare some wickets with grass in India to prepare them for the rest of the nations' matches. Dhoni is a terrible batsman outside the low flat tracks of the sub-continent. Pujara on the other hand looks the goods to me, as does Dhawan and of course Kholi. They just need the practice on wickets away from India.

on December 30, 2013, 9:50 GMT

I'm proud of the Indian young team but in the captaincy area we need a change........

Mr.149in31
on December 30, 2013, 9:47 GMT

Overjoyed as I am for the Proteas to be in such a strong position, I have to say, from a South African perspective, I'm utterly appalled at Jadeja's stupidity!!! What was that Ravindra??? For one guy to almost single-handedly undermine the efforts of his team in a TEST...a test. Just unbelievable. I hope the Indians drop him from this point on. Clearly another symptom of the damage of T20 cricket has gradually inflicted on cricket in general. Shocking.

on December 30, 2013, 9:44 GMT

After first day I warned Indians to stay humble and not get ahead of themselves. Well now you know why. From a position where "only India can win" you are struggling to not lose by an innings. The "overrated" Steyn has 8 wickets to this point, the "useless" Petersen has 3 against "the best players of spin in the world". Like Rohit has learned today its better to stay quiet and keep grinding then making a fool of yourself. Bottom line is 5 matches on this tour, 3 almighty hidings, rescued by rain for a 4th hiding in Centurion and lucky to draw the only game they were competitive in. Yet you are happy to say they have proven enough on this tour. Low standards you guys set for your team if this is considered success

on December 30, 2013, 9:42 GMT

indian supporters always say wait till they play in india cause thats all they have is wins in india

Greatest_Game
on December 30, 2013, 9:42 GMT

India collapsing AGAIN on a sub-continental pitch, 12 runs away from an innings defeat! Jadega went for glory, and found Morkel instead. India are rolling over and giving this away!

billy567
on December 30, 2013, 9:39 GMT

dhoni doesnot fit for test but he is good in ODI's and team management is not raising any question against him i dont know why? and pujara should come in to indian side for one days in case of raina and 2015 wc is to be played in australia and not in asia dhoni should think of it.....................

on December 30, 2013, 9:38 GMT

india can never win overseas. they are all failures. sachin was a failure for two years . let the team down. south Africa are number one. they can beat India in india easily

aussie1993
on December 30, 2013, 9:36 GMT

@mr msd its not asia and its not t20 where u can play helicopter learn how faf nd abd saved lst test

on December 30, 2013, 9:36 GMT

@write2gajanan
India will SA how to play cricket in india

yorkslanka
on December 30, 2013, 9:30 GMT

@ junaid brey- well said my friend. To be fair its not all Indian fans,its a small minority and most are decent people who like the rest of us,know the difference between supporting our own team and just constantly putting other teams down..peace.

on December 30, 2013, 9:25 GMT

This is cricket being played not gulli danda on dead indian pitches.

MaruthuDelft
on December 30, 2013, 9:24 GMT

Whatever Kohli and Pujara have done in this series now look worthless because of India's bowling. Indias bowling remains the same for decades now. Just like India's inability to perform in athletics. Winning in India doesn't count because India doesn't prepare sporting wickets which brings up exciting cricket. India should play its local games where a batting side cannot score more than 250.

on December 30, 2013, 9:22 GMT

india disgusting performance!!!!

aussie1993
on December 30, 2013, 9:22 GMT

@navi I think u have short memory I think u forget steyn's world cup bowling against india when india were 250+ for 1 nd then steyn came and india were 290+ all out.
india has flat tracks but still steyn can bowl better than others

on December 30, 2013, 9:21 GMT

Dale Steyn to Rohit Sharma while sledging him - "I have scored more runs than you in this series" Great fast bowler.

write2gajanan
on December 30, 2013, 9:05 GMT

Com'om SA; screw th'up; Show Indian team how to play test cricket in overseas!

on December 30, 2013, 8:58 GMT

Rohit sharma is gone and India is on course of a most deserving defeat-a defeat for employing defensive tactics,illogical team selection and complacent attitude.Now it would be a miracle only if India is able to save this test from here onwards.It would be a perfect gift to a legend from teammates.But what is really shocking is the empty stadium which will witness a few hours from now the bidding adieu of one of the greatest cricketers of all time.Compare this with Mumbai where Sachin called it a day.Imagine the difference cricket makes to the lives of millions of Indians.But those same millions are always let down by the uncanny attitude of those responsible for ensuring good performance during overseas tours as well.

aussie1993
on December 30, 2013, 8:57 GMT

@yousf do u know I m from india j&k not sri lanka
and I m die hard fan of aussie whether they win or loss

on December 30, 2013, 8:54 GMT

Where is Rohit sharma, Virat and Pujara... What happen Jajeda included in team.... no different... ASHWIN is always best and one spinner in india as well as all rounder......

sumit1982
on December 30, 2013, 8:52 GMT

India on the verge of losing the test match and series all due to some bad decision taken by coach & captain of Indian team.

aussie1993
on December 30, 2013, 8:51 GMT

@yousf u r living in 4th dimension australian have won 4 times test series in india and 4 times odi series in india wake up mate as far as SL are concerned they r worst

on December 30, 2013, 8:50 GMT

@aussie1993
Ok we will see his strike rates when SA tour india .. That will keep you honest buddy..

Greatest_Game
on December 30, 2013, 8:44 GMT

And once agin Rohit offers no hit - caught plumb in front by Philander. Five down. Dhoni to the rescue/????

Yousufahmed1
on December 30, 2013, 8:44 GMT

@ Ranjit Goonewardena They have scored enough runs in the series and have won matches before that is the reason they are among best batsmen in the world. Ask any team if they want Chandimal & Thirrimanne or Virat & Pujara you will get your answer.

Rumy1
on December 30, 2013, 8:38 GMT

With malice or bias towards none, Kallis is arguably the greatest cricketer of the modern era. As a batsman he has a better Test career average and a better century per innings rate than our own master blaster SRT. Moreover, Kallis batting at No.4 position has a better Test average than SRT. If we look at ODi records, Kallis has an equally good batting average of 44.8 as SRT. Plus, Kallis is going at a high unlike SRT who would have lost his place at least a year ago but for BCCI's kindness. As a bowler Kallis has a better average than the likes Sobers, our own Zaheer Khan and Bhajji. With the third highest Test run aggregate, second highest number of Test centuries, second highest number of Test catches and 292 Test wickets to his name, Kallis rides above any other cricketer of the modern era.

on December 30, 2013, 8:38 GMT

I wish The next sachin who is playing at Ganguly's position (5) does Laxman here.. Come on Hit Man RoHit..

kbza86
on December 30, 2013, 8:32 GMT

you reckon dale steyn has taken 50 wkts In 9 matches In 2013 @ 17all durIng breakd..what an unbelievably ignorant and most stupid comment I don't care when my fast bowler is taking the wickets...as long as his taking wickets..I'd rather have a guy who is taking wickets at breaks than Ishant and zak who take no wickets at all!!!

Yousufahmed1
on December 30, 2013, 8:30 GMT

@ aussie1993 Kohli was not out still we are accepting it so don't say we are making excuses. We dare not like your SL team who blames tosses, D/L, pitch for everything. That's the reason we have won all the trophies abroad unlike you. Who are yet to win anything outside sub continent.

Yousufahmed1
on December 30, 2013, 8:24 GMT

@ aussie1993 I am not making an excuse. Your SL team is yet to win a single test in India and AUS. All your Legends have failed to win anything abroad. We still have won series in ENG. And I have clearly mentioned in my comments no excuses as we were supposed to get rolled in 3days when we came to SA.

What's the use of having best batsmen in the world if they are back in pavilion?

on December 30, 2013, 8:21 GMT

a laxman kind of innings is the order of the day!!

aussie1993
on December 30, 2013, 8:03 GMT

@yousuf u r building team ryt know I agree but what abt past indian team which hve likes of kumble,ganguly,sachin,dravid,laxman,harbajhan,dhoni (from 2005) y were not great indian team able to win test series in india or australia
dnt make these lame excuses

on December 30, 2013, 7:58 GMT

Steyn gets his wickets only after the breaks .. He cant get the batsman out if he is set..,,It happens almost every time in this series and again its proved today

Pujara and Kohli gone within the first two overs. Wicked delivery to dismiss Pujara. Virat would have dearly loved to review his dismissal, but oh well, no UDRS! Indian batsmen, especially Nohit, looking a bit at sea now. I guess all bets are on SA to wrap them up and take this match. Can India mount the resistance?

VinodGupte
on December 30, 2013, 7:52 GMT

Will IND make SA bat again? Two wickets in the first 15 minutes! Steyn on fire.

humi_cric
on December 30, 2013, 7:47 GMT

Both Kohli and Pujara are back to the pavilion, now can Rahane and Sharma save India?????

Yousufahmed1
on December 30, 2013, 7:43 GMT

I am an Indian fan and after that kohli dismissal there will be tons of comments regarding that wrong decision but we only have ourselves to blame. And I personally feel kohli and pujara have already proved that they belong to the highest level and are infact among the best batsmen in the world. Its good that kohli got out cheaply coz now we have a test for rohit, ajinkya, dhoni and jadeja. If they can save the match from here or at least take it to the last 15 overs of the day then also it is the right foot forward. Remember when India came to SA we didn't expect India to fight like this and they have already overachieved. We are building a team right now. So Peace.

dganger
on December 30, 2013, 7:43 GMT

I guess we should not take South african team seriously any more as a test playing nation, look at the crowd, i dont think they deserve to be called a cricket loving nation, coz they are not, surely they have better interest now. Being on the rival side I was feeling bad and pitty for that great player Kallis who played his last test and a brilliant innings in a nice Sunday morning amidst empty crowds, SA fan's should be ashamed, they dont love their game and their greats. I really dont care how many quality players they have ...the fact is they dont love their Cricket

on December 30, 2013, 7:41 GMT

to be very honest i would like some changes...

1. zaheer khan should be hence forth given the duty of mentor and not as a bowler any more... he lacks pace and the zip...

2. Umesh yadav should be in the team irrespective of he pitch...Infact shami and umesh should be in playing 11.

3. Ravindra jadeja should be prefered over ashwin on overseas tour atleast.

4. Rahane and rohit should swap there baing order. beacuse rohit is a better player with tailenders.

5.i would prefer another fast bowler in place of zaheer.. may be varon aaron, sandeep warrior o whoever is performing better in domestic circuit !!

Naresh28
on December 30, 2013, 7:33 GMT

INDIA DOES NOT HAVE ANY CAPABLE BOWLERS and hence cannot win matches outside the sub-continent. I am really disappointed with our bowlers.
To win matches we need to revamp our bowling and also look at players who
are just occupying places in the team without contributing.

on December 30, 2013, 7:07 GMT

Zaheer Khan and Ishant have been utterly disappointing in this series.If they can't get wickets in SA ,where else can they get them.Zaheer trundling in at 120 ks is not the mark of a pace bowling spearhead.They should be dropped immediately.Umesh,Bhuvneshwar are able replacements for them in New Zealand.

Andy83
on December 30, 2013, 6:58 GMT

I think it's time the Indian team thinks long and hard about considering Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma's future in Indian cricket. With upcoming overseas tours coming it's better Idea to try some youth in bowlers. Also with just over one year left for the WC 2015 it's time to look for a good fast bowling all rounder.

PPL11
on December 30, 2013, 6:49 GMT

@Anwar Hossain Bablu - Checkout your team results when they visited SA for Test Series - Folded for 50 Runs, two huge inning defeats, Atleast india is competing in test series not like most visiting teams in SA

ChrisMarx
on December 30, 2013, 6:47 GMT

It really is a pity that the greatest cricketer of modern times didn't get to play his final match in Cape Town in front of his home crowd (as originally intended), but in a near empty stadium instead. It was his choice however and we have to respect that. He would have known that this series is a bit of a whatever affair in the minds of the SA fans who are dissapointed in CSA's capitulation towards the BCCI regarding the fixtures etc, but chose to stick with his decision anyway. At least he is going out on a high when people are still wanting him to stay and not embaressing himself by sticking around until way after his expiry date.

prof_aks
on December 30, 2013, 6:47 GMT

Prof_AKS_BSP_India: We saw hostile and aggressive bowling from SA bowlers in the IInd innings of India. Definitely, if there had been some other team then Indian Team, the situation could have been severe. Anyway, team India has to play positively without burdening deficit and play natural game. Both teams are equally well, pitches being the difference, local or external. Waiting impatiently....

Biggus
on December 30, 2013, 6:47 GMT

Are there any South Africans out there who can tell me why no-one goes to Test Matches over there any more? What reason could it be? Ticket prices? Football? Lack of interest? Other distractions? I would have thought the Saffers would have been big Test fans, especially given they're number 1 ATM. Just wondering, not trying to grind an axe or point a finger. Is it likely the Australian tour will draw bigger crowds? I'd hate for you guys to drop out of the Test arena, I really would.

on December 30, 2013, 6:42 GMT

I simply love the cricinfo site for its up to date coverage.
What I find annoying is the absolute bias of a lot of the Indian supporters and fans.
They only have praise for India and bash all opposing nations.

We all love our countries, but please be objective and make this site a pleasant place for us all to visit to follow our love for cricket.

on December 30, 2013, 6:41 GMT

If India manage a draw then SA's performance should be scrutinized, because if you're a no.1 team and can't beat a young and in experienced team at your backyard, then you are up for some serious reality check.

On the other hand India's young batsmen have proved that they can perform anywhere, but it is the bowling and negative captaincy of Dhoni that needs to be improved.

ex-Srilankan
on December 30, 2013, 6:37 GMT

SA ranked the best test side is no accident. However, those bagging India must recognise that India are playing in conditions that suit SA, not India. So the biggest test for India is later today, if they survive and the series ends in 0-0, it would be a morale-boosting series for India. SA has to beat India in conditions that suit them, anything less will put their best test side title at risk, unofficially anyway.

yuvi_gladiator
on December 30, 2013, 6:19 GMT

@MasterClass agreed it was a bad decision, but that is part of the game ever since they started playing cricket. agreed more right decisions with DRS, but it makes the game slow and kills the thrill of getting wickets both for crowd and the teams while they stare at the giant screens, makes the game not interesting IMO

GRVJPR
on December 30, 2013, 6:19 GMT

The pitch curator should be hanged. SPin is an important part of cricket but south africans are killing it. Unless seam bowlers bowled out teams for 150 in south africa, the last 2 days will always be boring draws. Shame Shame Grame Smith, CSA and south africa pitch curators.

sundersingh
on December 30, 2013, 6:19 GMT

DEAR PAK fans: First make pakistan ur home ground and try to save ur cricket and cricket players and then criticize India whether they r home track bullies or not... ur not even able to pull a low caliber team for a T20 match in ur home ground... you are trying to make UAE as ur home ground...

SHK1
on December 30, 2013, 6:16 GMT

Its the first time I have seen where the umpires forced a ball change! Just goes to show how scared and defensive TEAM INDIA is... and this is suppose to be the 2nd best test team. Any avid tennis fans like me may recall that Thomas Muster became no.1 tennis players by playing countless tornaments on clay courts but come Wimbledon he was seeded no.5. I think the ICC should do the same with India.

on December 30, 2013, 6:15 GMT

We will keep on suffering from such setbacks unless we get rid of Ishant and Zaheer & Ashwin. Umesh took 5 wickets in his last test in India and still warming the bench. Ishant can give you occasional flash of brilliance but you gotta ask if it is enough for an overseas win outside of subcontinent. Both the test, the Indian bowling let us down. I have never seen such a pedestrian pace bowling on overseas tours from India apart from the last three visits; England, Australia and South Africa. In the past, we were not able to win coz our betting would invariably fail, however, the trend has reversed. The common factor; Ishant, Zaheer & Ashwin I am sure the way our new batting line up has assumed charge, the new bowling unit will also follow; my pick; Bhuvi, Umesh, Sami, Jadeja and one more spinner/pacer depending on the wicket.

sundersingh
on December 30, 2013, 6:08 GMT

@sujan IF they say That MSD in not have confidence in his pace bowlers... Then Smith is also not having confidence in his spin bowlers... Remember, we r taking about the pair of duminy&Petersen and jaddu&rohit , in both pair no one is muralitharan who make turn on any pitch.

yuvi_gladiator
on December 30, 2013, 6:07 GMT

RIP test cricket in SA. No wonder most cricket boards are settling for 2-3 test series against them because its not commercially viable for them. if only the crowds were supporting cricket then CSA won't begging for money from other boards. final test match for kallis in front of 5000 people in durban, a little humilating based on the respect and support some of the other greats got from their crowds in there final matches

V.Jammy
on December 30, 2013, 6:05 GMT

Though Indian bowlers bowled badly, SA might not have crossed 400 if Umpires wouldn't have helped them in giving life to both Petersons & in forcefully changing the ball after 146 overs.

dganger
on December 30, 2013, 6:03 GMT

Quite surprised the way Jadeja bowl, I must admit that i was very sceptical about his ability as test bowler, that too as a sole specialist spinner in a test, that too in overseas conditions. But I must say no matter how much I (along with many) underrate this player, this guy tend to surprise us every now on then. sad part a bowler need a good partnership too, which unfortunately he didnt get, otherwise the runs he leaked would have been much lesser and more effective.
Dhoni on the other hand is the other way round, he is perhaps overrated test cpt, his biasedness and dislikes of certain players really hurts. His skill as a test batsman too his highly questionable, I cant beleive he dropped Ashwin , instead he should have dropped Rohit (The epitome of overrated batsman), it would have given much more balance with 5 bowlers, a tactical blunder. And lastly Zaheer,dolling out his typical 125 kmph bowling, he is back to his ineffective best. Time 2 groom Yadav

on December 30, 2013, 5:46 GMT

india just play well in their own condition.they are not perfect for away series.how funny they are number 1 odi team and 2nd in the test.

sujan33
on December 30, 2013, 5:35 GMT

@criclovingmind if dhoni had spinners like duminy and petersen, do u think he would have bowled them due to bad light especially when the pitch wasnt turing on that first day,i dont think so

Testcricketistop
on December 30, 2013, 5:35 GMT

Here is a stat that may open some eyes.

Since 2007 tests played drawn and lost.

Australia, played 77, won 38, drawn 15, lost 24
England, played 88, won 38, drawn 27, lost 23
SA, played 65, won 36, drawn 15, lost 13
India, played 74, won32, drawn 22, lost 19.

sundersingh
on December 30, 2013, 5:23 GMT

Day 1 - ind 181-1 rain interrupts the match and we lost our momentum, smith was asked to bowl spinners at that time, but he refused to do that.( fear of India will scores highly in 1st inns). again 2nd day 1st session we lost 30 overs.. again we lost our momentum.... Coward tactics from smith... Now they r saying, we r trying to win the match... hopefully it will rain heavily today.. and wash out and eat most time as far as possible... But MSD bowled 20-25 overs with spinners when he was asked to do that.. now tell me who is trying to win the match...

on December 30, 2013, 5:20 GMT

Revised:
There are gains for India. Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, & Rahane have passed the test. We need to persist with them, give them more confidence & develop them into the future "Fab Four" batsmen for India. Jadeja has proved his worth, and should be a sure bet.

All others are suspects for the long race. Each one of them have a serious deficiency or the other. That includes Dhoni & his batting in tests.

Need for Ashwin to improve his fitness is talked about from his induction. Now he also proves that he has to significantly improve his basic skill; that is off-spinning, more so on non-responsive tracks. Still good bet.

Rohit has one more chance to prove today.

We are still groping to find the right set of pace bowlers! Shami's performance gets affected by who is bowling from the the other end. He needs to be persist ed with. Give him a better pace partner.

Though great in India; for overseas, I would look for options in place of (believe it or not) Dhawan, Dhoni, Ashwin & Rohit.

on December 30, 2013, 5:06 GMT

SA was in a similar spot in Test 1 and came off with flying colors..I will put it down to living up to numero uno ranking and experience..
It will be interesting to see if India's youth brigade can draw the match..
Being an Indian fan myself, I am not too optimistic..
Kohli, Pujara and Rahane are the only resistance...
I think it is too much to expect them to deliver yet again in an impressive way, with their backs very much to the wall..

I will be impressed even if India sets SA a target of 140-150.

Srini_Indian
on December 30, 2013, 4:56 GMT

People saying that Kallis is better batsman than Tendulkar needs to get real. Nobody has dominated the best team (Australia) than Tendulkar. Look at Kallis's average in England and SL. He hasn't scored a century in SL. I never seen him playing a dominating knock against McGrath, Warne, Lee. He doesn't have to face Donald, Pollock, Steyn, Morkel either. On the other hand, Sachin averages over 40 in all countries and scored centuries in all countries except Zimbabwe. There is a reason why Warne, Ponting, Lara and many other former players consider Sachin a better batsman than Kallis.

on December 30, 2013, 4:47 GMT

1st test india got a winning chance but south africa well played and draw the match today southafrica got a chance!!! what about india , wait and see!!

on December 30, 2013, 4:46 GMT

Indian bowlers cant take 20 wickets so they dont deserve to win.. Doesnt matter how good tour batters are how well they have done against SA in SA .. As simple as that.. The best poosible outcome for india in this series was a 0-0 .. This credit goes only to batters thats it... Helpless bowling ..

what happen to these bowlers
1) Praveen Kumar
2) R P singh
3) varun aaron
india should look back now at ranji matches and check who wil be the young fast bowlers there and nourish them in international matches
look next world cup is in australia/news zealand as we need really fast bowlers who can take wickets
reg test series our future series-news zealand,england,australia all need fast bowlers no need of ashwin/misra atleast ashwin can bat longer unless he improved his bowling techniques.

on December 30, 2013, 4:20 GMT

ROHIT SHARMA needs to find some form to show your class batting and to draw the match as the class batsman
why dhoni had taken rohit ?answer today's match

jahbert58
on December 30, 2013, 4:15 GMT

I couldn't have said it better Captain_tuk_tuk @ Gimmie -a-greentop. A former american football coach once said ( YOU PLAYED TO WIN THE GAME ) not lose not draw you played to win. If you think India gonna lay down and die think again. India has 1 goal in mind not to lose this test match on like SA who in a position and don't know how too win India will draw and not lose.....

on December 30, 2013, 4:15 GMT

It is time for Zaheer Khan to retire and Ishant Sharma to take a long break from International Cricket. Toothless, aimless Indian bowling apart from Shami & Jadeja, sad to see Shikhar Dhawan in this fashion,looks like we have to find another opener who is patient enough to play test cricket

yuvi_gladiator
on December 30, 2013, 4:12 GMT

@Albie Hanekom you are so funny. So were the pitches against pak in recent odis real SA pitches? IMO India did not bat well in odis and it was not the wicket but the lack of practice games before the tour and scoreboard pressure which daryll cullinan will tell you is very hard. Eng played brilliantly and won because they had quality spinners who actually spin it :D. So you said pitch suddenly became south african yesterday when there was a little swing? hehe. So you have said the pitches are non south african, pitches magically convert themselves to south african during some sessions wow, bcci is pathetic, indian bowlers are club level, india have great batsman?? (wait did you really said that). please enlighten us with some more thoughts, something new this time please

black_bird
on December 30, 2013, 4:03 GMT

India will easily win this match by innings and 100+ runs. mark my word. look jadeja has destroyed africa. if he was in first test, india would pack south africa within 100 runs.

on December 30, 2013, 4:03 GMT

If India draws the match it will be a big achievement for them.

Anil_Koshy
on December 30, 2013, 3:51 GMT

It seems that India need to have a separate team while traveling abroad, players like Dhawan, Rohit and including Dhoni are not very good on bouncy wickets, apart from Pujara and Kohli, none looked like a player. Even in the bowling department, only Shami looked good in parts, India need to have a wicket taking spinner like Bhajji or Kumble. Ashwin has time and again proved he is a local hero.

on December 30, 2013, 3:50 GMT

africans won't win because they r satisfyed with quallis century.

Greatest_Game
on December 30, 2013, 3:49 GMT

@ TommytuckerSaffa "This is the Achilles' heel of the South African team - SPIN. If only we had a spinner half the quality of Ashwin, we would be a more complete team."

Duminy, in the team as a batsman with an ave of 33, scored an agonising 24 @ SR 34.18, dragging Kallis' SR down by over 7 as he protected Duminy facing a larger percentage of Jadega's bowling. There was no question Jadega would get Duminy - who had dismissed Jadega earlier.

Peterson, the bowler, has a 26.5 batting ave, but scored a dynamite 61 @ 117.03. His bowl ave of 36.5. is not much better than Duminy's 40, Quite honestly, neither are good enough batsmen or bowlers, or all-rounders to deserve selection. However, Peterson had more confidence and gumption when batting.

A REAL spinner/all-rounder would be massive for the Proteas. God help them now that the King has abdicated!

on December 30, 2013, 3:46 GMT

What ever may be the result this match will always be remembered for King KALLIS Retirement

on December 30, 2013, 3:32 GMT

If SA plays with this kind of (tentative and passive) mindset against the fire-breathing men from down-under, then they are toast. The Aussies are fearless cricketers and they always go for the jagular. They always go for a win or die. Nothing in between. SA blood will be spilled aplenty when these two meet. Mark my words.

on December 30, 2013, 3:24 GMT

@ABKhanISB - Yeah same way Pakistan should hire an Indian Batting Coach to train your pathetic mediocre batsmen.

on December 30, 2013, 3:16 GMT

Pathetic middle order and lower order batting and then pathetic bowling let India down. There is no opportunity for improving bowling at SAF now to win the game. You can fight to save the game though by improving your batting. Let's wait and watch what India does.

on December 30, 2013, 2:09 GMT

The future of Indian cricket chetesh and Virat and also ajinkya will be on test. Tomorrow. We need to play umesh Yadav and Bhubanesh kamar in lieu or Zaheer and Ishant

Chris_P
on December 30, 2013, 1:39 GMT

@Albie Hanekom. I am actually surprised by the slowness of your traditionally quick wickets. What's the go? I hope they are back to traditional when we go there. Cheers.

suksub
on December 30, 2013, 1:10 GMT

Masterclass is right, the howler of the lbw decision made a huge difference - as was the stumping that was denied earlier. It is all upto Virat and Pujara now to save the test, SA is truly only one wicket away from winning the series.

RandyOZ
on December 30, 2013, 1:05 GMT

Great video comparing Kallis to Tendulkar and how much better Kallis is when there is a crisis

AidanFX
on December 30, 2013, 1:03 GMT

This will have to go down as one of the most boring games ever. It is like a competition to see who has the most boring captain.

on December 30, 2013, 1:01 GMT

South Africa is a good team hard to beat and it has all round good performance on the field. India is much below the standard of south Africa. Even Aussies are very much on lower side. They have somehow managed to gain Ashes but the South Africa is formidable at present.

heathrf1974
on December 30, 2013, 1:01 GMT

If India can get over 300 they should be safe.

BigDataIsAHoax
on December 30, 2013, 0:52 GMT

Test cricket is dying a terrible death in South Africa. You don't need a bigger proof than the crowd numbers on a Sunday when Kallis was batting for the last time. Probably the South Africans just don't care for the #1 rank in tests. I don't blame them. Except ABDV and Steyn there is not really anyone in this team worth paying to watch, now that Kallis is gone.

BigDataIsAHoax
on December 30, 2013, 0:36 GMT

I'm really sick of Dhoni's team selection. Zak and Ishant have to be sacked. Why he keeps Ishant in the side time and again is anybody's guess. What an opportunity lost for Umesh Yadav. Dhoni is very unfair to deserving candidates on many occasions. His own place in the team is questionable...his batting skills are very poor overseas. I can't remember him getting out any way other than edging to the slips or to the keeper in England, Australia and now in South Africa. His wicket keeping is average. It's NOTHING when compared to De Villiers or Brad Haddin both of whom are miles ahead as test batsmen. His captaincy is negative and defensive. He is a burden that the test team has been carrying for ages. All of this is down to dirty politics of IPL and Chennai Super Kings. The day he retires from tests will be my happiest. I'm convinced he will not be sacked because statistics say he is the most successful test captain of India VERY skilled at beating teams like WI at home. What a waste!

on December 30, 2013, 0:24 GMT

Good job from SA to get to 500 despite yesterday's criticisms that SA were overly cautious and negative and were looking to have a Kallis testimonial - rubbish in my opinion.

I saw a lot of comments that the draw is almost like a win - newsflash for those folks: a draw is just that - a draw.

If you want to lay claim to the no. 1 spot then beat the no. 1 side, don't draw with them and then make arguments about being ahead in various sessions of the Test...

Does the presumptive, potential no. 1 side get 500 runs scored on them as India have just had ?

Attractivue
on December 30, 2013, 0:08 GMT

This is a pretty good effort by India, they almost won the first test and this one is most likely a draw!

I was looking for a whitewash from South Africa.

theRule19
on December 29, 2013, 23:35 GMT

I dont know why people are blaming the pitch. There is nothing wrong in the pitch it seems..Bowlers from both sides have taken wickets. Its the Indian batting collapses in stages that has led to the situation that the Indians find themselves in. Poor shot selection from batsmen such as Vijay, Kohli, Rohit, Dhoni and Jadeja are to blame. Here, all are to blame for the game balance being tilted to SA favour. The pitch looks brilliant to bat on with the occasional delivery surprising the batsmen. On the last day however, if Kohli and Pujara are there till lunch or even tea..then it is a certain draw.

lankawa
on December 29, 2013, 23:24 GMT

Great game of test cricket. Like the emotions. Fans do forget that some of the great test games were drawn games. SA seem to be the more balanced team where as India has a probably the best batting line up. I wonder if South Asian teams except Pakistan will ever produce world class fast bowlers consistently. Do you think this is something to do with their diet? Sri Lanka and India do not produce quality fast bowlers - ??

on December 29, 2013, 23:14 GMT

common kallis u hav more life in u

Nampally
on December 29, 2013, 22:25 GMT

Playing a 5 day Test match with just 4 bowlers- 3 of whom are coming with tired legs from First Test- deserved a 500 score by SA to teach Dhoni a fundamental lesson. India needs to put in a 5 member selection committee for XI selection. Dhoni has jeopardised India's chances with his tunnel vision & irrational XI selection. Even if Ashwin was retained in place of Rohit Sharma, India would have had at least 2 spinners. Rohit has a "Duck" in each Test! India has just 2 reliable batsmen in Pujara & Kohli. At least support them by restricting the SA total with 5 bowlers. Durban was predicted to assist the spinners & Dhoni totally ignored it. Admittedly Ashwin did not bowl well in First test. But on a spinners wicket he would have succeeded just as well as jadeja. India has an uphill task on Day 5. Indian openers failed again. Pujara & Kohli have to play the innings of their lifetime to save India from a defeat- as simple as that. They have to bat for 2 sessions to carry India to safety!

TRAM
on December 29, 2013, 22:20 GMT

We all know Isharma cant swing the ball be it new or old. Or shall we say Ishant needs the batsman to make a bad leave to get wickets?
Nowadays, Dhoni removes Zaheer after 2-3 overs - which means Zaheer also cant bowl with new ball. On the other hand, the expert new ball bowler BKumar sits outside. Alright.
Today, Zaheer bowled with old ball. Forget the tired Kallis, Zaheer could not get even Steyn and Peterson out.
(Shami was unlucky not to get Peterson lbw)
And do these two (Zaheer and Ishant) have anything else to contribute, such as saving extra 20 runs in fielding or scoring 20 runs?
I bet Zaheer and Ishant will show up in the NZ tour of India. And we will continue to hear from Ind commentators such as "Zaheer-the most experienced", "Ishant hits the deck hard", etc.
My point: I am ok if players play bad. Thats the limitation of their skill set. But I am not ok if commentators lobby for such players. How is it they dont realize that it is obvious when they do it and very ugly?

on December 29, 2013, 22:14 GMT

Uh, here I go commenting again, and I'm not a fan of throwing my opinion all over the place, but anyway - those who are criticizing South Africa for not being ruthless a la Australia and saying that we'll never be a truly great #1 team due to this - come on now, S-Africa has never been and never will be Australia. It's not their way.
South Africa is the awkward and polite kid in the high school yearbook, that kid who happens to be very talented but also sometimes trips over his own feet in the school hallway; Australia's the swaggering super-confident cool kid who occasionally dabbles in light teasing and bullying, also oozes talent. Their mentalities are utterly different, but that's what makes watching these two teams battle each other so epic. Personally, I like SA (and Oz) the way they are. They're trying to be #1 their own way, and hey, maybe they never will be an 'all time great team,' (I think they just might) but I love watching them try and I wouldn't have them any other way.

Silverbails
on December 29, 2013, 21:44 GMT

Oh dear, oh dear, another pathetic and toothless display from India. They
will need every ounce of skill and not a small degree of luck to come out to of this series with a draw. One of the 2 final frontiers still remains. When are India ever going to win a Test series in SA? They will certainly need to play at leat a four Test Series to do so; this is such an inadequate 2 series only, which they will be fortunate not to lose!! Such a sad, poor team of travelling cricketers, worse than perhaps any other major Test playing country!! Let's hope for some much better cricket tomorrow from India...

on December 29, 2013, 21:39 GMT

appreciate team india if they stand well and gain a draw. dhoni, for me is still one of the best leader around. cant imagine smith or clarke or cook leading a team with ishant ashwin and zaheer . would they still be in the top rankings?? Not! ! give this young indian team a go for themselves to sign. with the available resources , unfortunately this is the maximum any captain could do.

quittthewhinging
on December 29, 2013, 21:36 GMT

There are a few comments here regarding the small crowds at the two Test matches. Firstly let me say that smallish crowds at Tests are very often the case in SA (especially on working days). The crowds are larger for ODIs and T20 games. HOWEVER, let me also say that many, many fans were disgusted with the BCCI's bullying tactics regarding the tour schedule and also with CSA's abject cowardice in response to the demands of the BCCI. This has resulted in a boycott of the Tests by some fans in order to make a point. I am one of them and I know a few others who feel the same. A two-test series is not really a series at all. The ICC should make sure this doesn't happen again. A minimum of three Tests or nothing!!

MODERATORS PLEASE PUBLISH. THIS IS IMPORTANT!!

shot274
on December 29, 2013, 21:23 GMT

Whatever one says bout the Indian pace attack, South African spin bowling is in a class of its own- It is the only country which has not produced an international spinner in the modern era! Why?? Honestly most club cricketers would have played better spinners than Pietersen!And however good Steyn and company may be a good spinner on the final day could have been the difference.And i can never understand why it is considered the benchmark to play pace and seam but to blame the pitches when teams falter on spinning tracks in the subcontinent. A complete team should have resources for all conditions. South Africa, a great team but dont and there is little chance that they will get a spinner in the near futurer to compete effectively on spinning wickets.

pat_one_back
on December 29, 2013, 21:20 GMT

Such a pity this is only a 2 test series, no wonder SA are happy with the draws, who wants to risk losing a series in the opening test of two.

on December 29, 2013, 21:08 GMT

Three things on my mind right now -
1- Cheers Kallis! Felt so proud of that 100.
2- I'm very surprised at how intensely critical some of the comments are about the Indian team - they've done a great job, batsman are on their way to greatness surely, and the bowlers have come to the party more than suggested. Even Ishant - who is being relegated to mud by derisive critics did a good job at Wanderers, I'm impressed with this young new India! Always have respected the team.
3- regarding poor match attendance by SA public, well, yes, it is rather shameful. I was at Wanderers, and I'll theorise that attendance is low because A- Most South Africans find test cricket boring :( and most importantly B - Durbanites and Joburgers are not comfortable with cloudy weather. We're not. It's either sunny or occasionally rainy in our cities, we're mistrustful of the ominous all day cloudiness that's been prevalent in both matches and chose not to venture out. Not justifying it, but there it is.

blogossip
on December 29, 2013, 21:04 GMT

its easy to fault SA's defensive approach, however one shd remember they have more to lose if they lose a match since its 2 test series.
this track is weird and batting 4th can be a nitemare so SA eliminated possibilty of chasing 100 + target on last day. it wud be very bad if they enter into aussie series as losers to India at home.

I dont think auussies would roll over SA just like england surrenderd. but thats later and tmrw its an enticing day for cricket provided weather dsnt intervene

Raki99
on December 29, 2013, 21:03 GMT

If India plays 70 overs tomorrow, we will be able to draw the game. That's 180 more runs and with bad light and rain saf would only have like 15 overs to chase the total. I think it's how the morning session go for India.

SherjilIslam
on December 29, 2013, 20:45 GMT

Posted by Albie Hanekom on (December 29, 2013, 18:37 GMT): " I suspect someone was afraid of upsetting your over sensitive cricketboard and backed down from preparing these wickets properly. There can be no other explanation for these wickets." I have a very simple explanation to that, it's JH Kallis's last test and your board didn't wanted to send terribly out of form albeit one of the greatest SAffan cricketer empty handed. Hence such a docile pitch, and let me tell you this pitch is even worst than a sub-continent pitch where we have a 9 results out of last 10 matches and not to mention we bid farewell to Laxman and SRT in between those 10 matches.

on December 29, 2013, 20:35 GMT

one match in SA where ashwin didn't perform..& my friends here say he isnot a good bowler..he is good only at subcontinent. get your facts right.see how many wickets has he taken overseas & subcontinent. also see his wickets in test, odi & t20...forget about his wicket taking think about his batting.many greats have said & comments above have proved it right "we humans have short sighted memory"

on December 29, 2013, 20:35 GMT

Flat dead tracks provide draws. And these are the 2 flattest wickets I have ever seen South African officials provide for a test series.

on December 29, 2013, 20:30 GMT

@MasterClass u don't know much about cricket mate.

AJJadeja
on December 29, 2013, 20:29 GMT

Been a great series so far, I feel that the final day will come down to Steyn vs Kohli, Pujara and Rahane if the weather holds out. The Proteas will be disappointed if they dont manage to wrap up the series tomorrow with so much time being lost in the game. Added to this they came very close to and probably should have won the first test match even though they played with 10 men (Morkel injury) for half the game. I feel that the weather and bad luck (injury to Morkel) are the reasons why this series didnt end in a whitewash in favour of the Proteas and the gap between number one and two remains as wide as ever.

Harmony111
on December 29, 2013, 20:21 GMT

Indian bowling was always weak but it never looked so helpless as it has looked in the last 2 years in away matches. In Eng or in Aus and here in SA, there have been long durations of play where Indian bowlers just look idea-less. In fact, in the Newland test in 2010, ABD got a 100 in a session after top order of SA had already got them a huge score. In Eng, Bell got his 100, Cook got his 290 & others in such kind of plays. In Aus, Warner, Clarke, Hussey, Ponting all seemed to get free runs all the time. Here too, in the 1st test, on Day 5 India were unable to either take wickets or to stop SA form quick scoring. & then today we saw India letting guys like Steyn & Peterson score those runs.

It hurts India two ways actually. Our lower order batsmen are useless. Zak doesn't even seem to have the nerve while others are totally inept. OTOH, other teams seem to have much robust lower orders. SA score 200+ runs for bottom 5.

Needless to say India need to bat very well to save this match.

Captain_Tuk_Tuk
on December 29, 2013, 20:02 GMT

@gimme-a-greentop
No doubt Micheal Clarke is the best captain they were playing Test match like an ODI when game was slightly affected by rain and now you can see they are leading the series 4-0 fair enough they have home advantage but England have won Ashes in Australia before.

Reason why Australia want to win every game is that they were hungry for win while South Africa if draw the series they'll take it they won't risk loosing to win it thats the main difference between South Africa and Australia and thats what made Australia great team before and again they are rising it will be an interesting contest on 12 of Feb. I am not saying that great teams don't lose, yes they lose but they are not afraid of losing.

on December 29, 2013, 19:52 GMT

i am unable to concentrate on my studies...its been two days ....why r u retiring.....kallis

on December 29, 2013, 19:43 GMT

Indian very pedestrian bowling is the reason for their pathetic outings outside India. In India, the lack of their opponents' technique of playing spin and flat tracks gives them the edge. Outside India, their pace bowling is probably less lethal than Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They need to include the likes of Yadav, Aarun and anyone else who can bowl 140kph consistently. Rohit, Ishant, Zaheer, Dhoni, Dhawan are not Test players that can win you games anymore. Kohli and Pujara need to be nurtured and so do Shami, Jadeja, Rahane and other youngsters with potential. Thank goodness Sir SRT is no longer in the team to give others a chance. Now time for Zaheer and Ishant to make way for other talent capable of actually taking wickets.

eilsaky
on December 29, 2013, 19:37 GMT

@Madan Shivakumar, Ashwin is flop outside the subcontinent. He is neither a good bowler nor a good batsman on these bouncy green-tops. he has played 5 tests abroad and has been completely ineffective. If India were to really play a spinner it has to be Amit Mishra who apparently Dhoni dislikes as he is from Sehwag camp or the other option is Sardar Harbhajan Singh.

MasterClass
on December 29, 2013, 19:28 GMT

Guys, what Dhoni did keeping the old ball was wily and I completely understand and support his approach. What we got was an extended session of very slow run rate and 2 wickets. The real culprit for the situation India find themselves in was the howler of a decision when Peterson was plumb LBW to Shami in the 1st over with the new ball. Of course not having DRS is entirely India's fault (but not the players!). Peterson was on 29 I believe, and only after that did he and Faf kick their innings into high gear. Once Peterson was out, Philander and Morkle did not last long. That howler made a likely 80-100 run lead a 160 run lead. I remember Shami shaking his head in disbelief and all commentators saying that was plumb. A 80-100 run lead and this would be an entirely different SA once the early wickets didn't come and they realize they were looking down the barrel of yet another 5th day survival hoping that lightning strikes twice.

Testcricketistop
on December 29, 2013, 19:26 GMT

Some truly poor comments here.

Both these teams have shown how test cricket should be played, great sportsmanship shown by the players during this series, great respect shown by the Indian team towards Kallis and the manner in which Rahul Dravid conducted himself in the commentating booth heaping accolades on Jacques Kallis who overtook his run scoring record today with not a hint of negativity has been a pleasure to watch and listen to.

Some of you could learn from these gents who have given us a spectacular series.

on December 29, 2013, 19:15 GMT

Toothless Indian Bowling always requires the pitch for assistance. It will be again a close finish tomorrow but this time SA will play to win/draw

spiritwithin
on December 29, 2013, 19:01 GMT

indian bowlers are pathetic to say the least,to see Zaheer bowling mostly in 120s kmph makes me laugh,does he intend to reverse swing at such lowly speed?he looks pedestrian and he being the most experienced bowler tells the story of indian pacers.Unless BCCI does some future planning to get good Fast bowlers the future of indian team is bleak because you cant win test matches without taking 20wickets,and it's unfair to expect our batsman to save the tests everytime.Time to leave Zaheer & Ishant forever.

GreenBouncySpin
on December 29, 2013, 18:54 GMT

I, for one, don't wish for any interruptions to play tomorrow by rain or bad light. I expect full 98 overs to be bowled and India fight it out to salvage a draw (India win is totally out of question) which will do a world of good to this team and remembered for many years to come.
I am sure SA will have more concerns to deal with if the series goes down 0-0. Nowadays almost every team is winning handsomely in their home turf and SA being No.1 and India with such a young and inexperienced side drawing 0-0 in SA's backyard - will be hard for SA to deal with. If not for India PATHETIC bowling, who knows India could probably have won the series 2-0.
For India though - our biggest concern is becoming much more bigger by the day and there needs to be a complete paradigm shift to our process of grooming FAST bowlers. Millions of fans and hundreds of experts repeated this phrase for so long 'bowlers win you the matches, not batsmen' - when will India realize this?

gimme-a-greentop
on December 29, 2013, 18:52 GMT

@jahbert58..I'm sorry man, but you've read the situation wrong...South Africa are absolutely not playing for a draw in this match. I think Smith has played little more Test cricket than anyone commenting here and knows what he is doing. Michael Clarke blah blah....seriously. People have lost all appreciation for the subtleties of Test cricket through watching all this slog and bash stuff. It's the same reason why Kallis (not going into the statistical justification, people can read that anywhere) is so under-appreciated. I enjoy flair as much as the next person but ultimately it's whether you do the job or not, and Kallis has done it better than anybody except a few players in the entire history of Test cricket. Case closed.

Dirk_L
on December 29, 2013, 18:51 GMT

I didn't say SA's tactics were not negative too, only that Dhoni's was. Smith and Dhoni are the two most no-risk captains around. That's why SA and India are #1 and #2. That's what test cricket is about.

SherjilIslam
on December 29, 2013, 18:48 GMT

Shame on CSA for such a poor crowd attendance. I mean it's JH Kallis's farewell test and we see hardly 5k people in the ground that too on Sunday?? At-least they could have taken some initiative ro encourage people to throng the stadium.
Coming to the match, I think we Indians are too much critical of our bowlers but the fact of the matter is this pitch is a belter and we have to admit that our batting let us down in first innings else we could have easily reached 500 like SA. the first session is gonna be crucial tomorrow, if Kohli-Pujara pair manages to keep SA at bay, i can see both team sharing the honors for this series.

BustIPL
on December 29, 2013, 18:47 GMT

Accolades for king kallis signing off in style scoring a hundred against the number 2 team which is experiencing a fresh surge post SRT. He stamped his authority on this test and now it is the job of bowlers to win it for SA and pay tribute to the great.

on December 29, 2013, 18:37 GMT

@yuvigladiator.Sorry to disappoint you but it is alot easier for your batsman to apply themselves on the slowest pitches in SA history. These tracks are ALOT closer to what you get in India then what is usual here just listen to your own Ravi Shastri comment on this. Look at the ODI in Joburg that is the usual pace of SA wickets.If that was the standard for the tests there is no way one of these matches would have reached the 4th day. I suspect someone was afraid of upsetting your over sensitive cricketboard and backed down from preparing these wickets properly. There can be no other explanation for these wickets.
Will be interesting when SA goes to India wo will have crumbling wickets and will backfire as vs England as India doesnt have the spin quality that they use to have and other countries have adapted due to players playing IPL etc. India need balance and forever having "great batsman" doesnt matter much if you cant find a single fast bowler better then club level

Capricorn60
on December 29, 2013, 18:30 GMT

India were put into this defensive position purely down to Dhoni's negativity by not taking the new ball first thing this morning when his bowlers were fresh & trying to clean up the SA tail. From a position of strength after the first day, we now have to rely on Kohli & Pujara [our best two batsmen] to save us from defeat tomorrow. Our medium-pace bowling of the 130-135kph mark has been proven to be useless in overseas conditions [can be seen in the current Ashes series too] & we need to now pension off Zaheer & Ishant permanently. Need Yadav now to be given a chance, perhaps bowling in tandem with Shami in NZ & both supported by some new young fast talented bowlers brought in.

on December 29, 2013, 18:22 GMT

really disappointed with how the Indians threw this game away just when they were starting to get a stranglehold... at the end of day 1 a total of 400 was on the cards easily and they blew it off with some mindless strokes... then came the bowling which was seriously pathetic and eeriely similar to what it was in England (2011) and Australia (2012) ... I believe that the Indians should mould at least 2-3 genuine all rounders to win abroad.. ashwin will improve but he needs guidance on foreign wickets... jadeja and rishi dhawan are the other two quality all rounders in Ind and dhawan needs to be fast tracked into the test team...a fast bowling all rounder is what we badly need and there s no need to have specialist batsmen at higher positions if they don't score runs... let dhoni play at 6....push rahane to 5... play jadeja and ashwin at 7 and 8... don't see any harm in this XI

jahbert58
on December 29, 2013, 18:21 GMT

Safe to say SA playing for another draw. you wonder what SA made up of? 100, 150 lead why not declared you in a position where India cannot win the game ( so we think ) with all that time lost by rain and bad light. my my my SA you call yourself #1 I would love to see Micheal Clarke in that same position.

on December 29, 2013, 18:09 GMT

many players selection for nz depends on tommorrow performance of india -rohit dhawan zaheer on radar

IndCricFan2013
on December 29, 2013, 18:07 GMT

One final test awaits India tomorrow on this short, but very important tour for India. If they can hold and draw, they can equate this series draw to the one India achieved under Srikanth in Pakistan, when Sachin debuted.

on December 29, 2013, 18:05 GMT

guys kallis is retiring from test mstches not other form of games.he already made it clear that he wanna play 2015 world cup.will be going to be in Australia. best of luck him

on December 29, 2013, 17:58 GMT

Rain and bad light should help India because rain stopped India's momentum on day 1. Otherwise everything depends on Pujara, kohli, and Rahane - the three who have been reliable for India in this match. India should have got closer to 400 in the first innings but when required Rohit, Jadeja, Dhoni and the tail did not contribute another 60 - 70 more. Luckily Vijay did well else things would have been worse. Dhoni will have to take some risks and and be street smart when it comes to selections. Can Rohit and Jadeja prove their worth as batsmen? even Dhoni looks ugly when batting here. The tail should wag - it resembles courtney walsh's batting. SA has Duminy and Peterson and Kallis to help their main 3 bowlers. India must find a way to fit in an allrounder and a decent part time bowler.

StarHawk
on December 29, 2013, 17:58 GMT

@Dirk_L, hahaha...so you are telling me picking up 3 wickets is easier than scoring 16 runs when you have an in-form batsman (Philander) and a handy lower-order bat (Steyn) at the crease??? Gimme a break!!!

You yourself said that 9 men were at the boundary..so they could've easily worked out the singles and 2s, and won the match with an over to spare....instead they chose to leave deliveries and refuse singles..what a joke!!! And now you are calling Indians defensive? LOL

on December 29, 2013, 17:56 GMT

pls god save India not by rain but by blessings to Indian batters especially virat n pujara so day we feel proud of our team as they did not lose against sa bowling in sa

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 29, 2013, 17:55 GMT

Ok. Let's get back to the Current Test match being played shall we and leave the last one as an Great draw with no team deserving to lose.

Pujara and Kohli are far and wide Indias best batsmen. If SA don't get these 2 out by Lunchtime tomorrow the game is a draw. SA needs to get at least 3 wickets in the first session tomorrow.

The first session is key, fast bowlers will be fresh, conditions likely overcast and India know if they can get through Steyn and Phiilander then it will be much easier for them to deal with the inconsistent Morkel and a Spinner who cant spin it - in R Petersen. Will be glued to the game tomorrow. Just cant believe its only a 2 match series.

on December 29, 2013, 17:55 GMT

India can save the match if one of Kohli/Pujara play big inning..Rahane is still new, Rohit has not shown any form and we cant depend on Dhoni to play match saving inning ;)

yuvi_gladiator
on December 29, 2013, 17:52 GMT

@Albie Hanekom don't embarrass yourself with the pitch arguments "did you just started watching cricket?", Indian fans are bigger critics of their team than the levels you could only dream of. So everyone already knows the reality which i am really sorry to disappoint you is that the fight that we could have only imagined from this batting unit has already been shown without a practice game, nothing can change that. Here is a reality of how things are SA Fielding vs Ind Fielding
(Not even comparable as SA outclasses ind), SA Bowling vs Ind Bowling in SA (SA way better), SA Bowling vs Ind Bowling in Ind (India way ahead in spin) , SA batting better than ind batting. So in this series only thing thats keeping Ind in it is the fight which is all you need for somedays along with application. talking about pitches "clay bowls" not dust bowls is what we make now for last 2 years, so you will know what a spinning wicket looks like when you see it "its going to be so much fun :D"

on December 29, 2013, 17:50 GMT

Jadeja shd hv replaced Rohit and not Ashwin. Whatever Rohit contributed with the bat, Ashwin WD hv scored lot more and also got wickets in this spinner friendly track.

blogossip
on December 29, 2013, 17:45 GMT

India needs weather to save them tomorrow. As regards Kallis, I think its wise he's going on a high. Players who age are constantly questioned how long they will continue. Charm of 300 wkts or 50 centuries is cool but team matters more and Kallis played a magic knock in his farewell test!

ksriniasu
on December 29, 2013, 17:43 GMT

It will be a miracle if India saves this test. First of all, we have five passengers in Zaheer, Ishant, Dhoni, Rohit and Dhawan. That makes it a six against eleven game. Now, AB is an awesome batsman and a decent wicket-keeper. Kallis is awesome batsman and a decent bowler. That makes it six against thirteen !!!

All credit to Zaheer for improving his fitness. Having said that, all he does is bowl at 135 Ks and even Steyn is able to hit him over the head. We might as well play Umesh and hope that he will learn from the experience. Dhoni is a pathetic batsman in oversees conditions and India is essentially a 5 down all out team. Ishant can be a good politician. Being so mediocre and still be able to hold his position in the team requires serious political talent. Rohit and Dhawan have not done anything this series. Rohit's dismissal in the first innings at Wanderers was testimony to his lack of application. He has not given us much to analyze since then. Sorry state of affairs :-(

on December 29, 2013, 17:41 GMT

Dhoni will fail where other Indian captains also failed (apart from ganguly).. "Winning overseas"

Yousufahmed1
on December 29, 2013, 17:40 GMT

@ TommytuckerSaffa So if you have rubbish spinners then its fine to bowl negatively but when you have rubbish fast bowlers you should give new bowl to them. Same thing i will say to you. It you were a spinner like peterson and can see a patch on the pitch will you be happy when your captain ask you to bowl outside leg stump. Why don't you have some perspective.

SA has an all round team with the greatest all rounder and the best bowling attack. But Dhoni only had a world class batting that's it and he still took the team to pinnacle. Imagine Smith having Indian bowling attack. He would struggle to keep in top three teams of the world.

Temuzin
on December 29, 2013, 17:38 GMT

@TommytuckerSaffa, I think you should tone down your criticism of Dhoni and team India. Dhoni knows what he is doing. Any captain will lose his confidence in his fast bowlers if the first couple of wickets at the start of the innings is taken by a spinner. That too after the opposing teams fast bowlers had decimated your batsmen from the dominant position of 181 for 1. While hadeha was bowling very well and not giving much runs Dhoni could limit SA scoring from going to the dangerous level. Jadeja bowled over 50 over for just 2.37 runs/over and took 6 wickets. Why you want to bring in pacers with a new ball? for SA to start whacking them around for a much bigger lead than it actually is? Remember India has no steyn, morkel and Philander bowling for them. We have old Zaheer, erratic Ishant and on/off Shami. So in the circumstances Dhoni did the best any captain could have. It was fault of Smith who could not show guts to pulverize slow Indian bowling to their full advantage.

on December 29, 2013, 17:33 GMT

Dhoni's decision not take new ball till 146 overs is not a good sign for his captaincy- and his pace bowlers.with england tour ahead, this will bring down confidence of his pacers.if he thought only Jadeja could do damage to SA team, he could have played with two spinners- and two pacers.

Fogu
on December 29, 2013, 17:30 GMT

I read a few comments earlier about the slow batting of SA, even though they batted over 3 rpo. IN is batting below 2rpo, I wonder what those same people will write about. I also wonder if they understand test cricket.

spiritwithin
on December 29, 2013, 17:27 GMT

@Muneeb_Dawood,cant blame Dhoni for his tactics because our bowling attack is as good a Bermuda,our attack was clueless and that why even peterson made 61

spiritwithin
on December 29, 2013, 17:23 GMT

@ TommytuckerSaffa..seems like its you who didn't watches the 1st test properly,SA needed only 16 from 3overs,then Shami bowled those chest high balls which were legitimate deliveries(two were head high and perfectly alright in tests where two such deliveries are allowed and remaining are OK even by ODI standard).Nobody asked them to hit sixes but trying for singles was enough.And the second last over to Philander were either overpitches or outside off stump(not close to Wide),the last over were again perfectly alright with no wide balls and not even above high bouncers.But what we saw was a defensive tactics making mockery of that great test match.Even in the second test the Umpires had to warn Saffa spinners from negative bowling.Plz open your eyes

on December 29, 2013, 17:23 GMT

we need umesh in every overseas game as he turn the tides in Indiaʹs favor with his pace and movement though he is bit erratic ;!!!

Dirk_L
on December 29, 2013, 17:20 GMT

@StarHawk: That third-last over, if India could get one wicket, with the #8 and #9 at the crease, the limping Morkel would be exposed, followed at #11 by the ultimate New Phantom. Dhoni's master plan was to put nine men on the boundary. 9, IX, 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1. That's not defensive and negative?

on December 29, 2013, 17:19 GMT

@SOUTH AFRICA:

I posted the the following comment earlier (After 3rd day's play):

..."Try to bat up to, and possibly into the second session; get AT LEAST a 250 lead. It is possible (and easy if Faf & Philander are given speeding license) then you have one-and-a half days to bowl India out, within that 250 (or, whatever lead you build). And you will end up with an innings victory, in the farewell match of the great Kallis."...

SA, you have done almost the same, except that 250 became 166; partly due to careful, but typical /classical batting by Kallis.

Waiting to see what happens tomorrow. Irrespective of the result, happy to have followed this great short series.

Tomorrow is a great opportunity to FIRM UP three slots for the "future fabulous four" for India: (Pujara, Kohli & Rahane). Vijay, Dhawan & Rohit still have to fight it out for the fourth in the "Fab Four"!

bouncer709
on December 29, 2013, 17:18 GMT

I think this is the end of career for Zaheer Khan too.

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 29, 2013, 17:15 GMT

@Yousufahmed1
When you pick 3 seamers for a Test match - then why don't you use them? Can you imagine you are a fast bowler (Ishant, Shami, Khan), the new ball is due and Dhoni ignores you for a day - even when overcast.... When they finally got the ball, it swung and moved all over the place in the conditions. Instead Dhoni waited for too long while SA accumulated runs in the meantime and when he finally took the new ball the horse had already bolted.

You say Smith is being negative with his spinners, I respect your opinion but it makes sense if you have rubbish spinners and bad light stops you using quick bowlers.

I am pleased Dhoni has IPL, ODI Trophies but this is TEST match and he is playing Overseas. Not too sure why you make the comparison? Are you saying captaining an IPL team is the same as Captaining a 5 day test match in a foreign country? I hope not.

Srini_Indian
on December 29, 2013, 17:15 GMT

@Jose Puliampatta: Have you forgotten about Vijay who was our top scorer in 1st innings or you're just another Vijay hater? Whatever happens tomorrow, I would say Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Jadeja can be very proud of their performances while Dhawan, Rohit, Ashwin, Shami are disappointing. Ishant, Zaheer are done and they shouldnt be in the test team for NZ. Dhoni is as always disappointing overseas.

on December 29, 2013, 17:14 GMT

New food for thought.Can Rishi Dhawan(speed 120-130) and Anureet singh(no idea about his speed) currently topping Ranji bowling chart be considered for replacing Zaheer and Ishant?

AB_DeVilliers
on December 29, 2013, 17:04 GMT

I am a Saffer but I generally like team India and admire the fight they have shown this series. You have to, however, question the decision making of MS Dhoni and the team management in this game. SAs tactics were clear - bat time regardless of run rate and move into a position from which they couldn't lose. India did nothing to upset this by trying to take wickets. Understand that the old ball was reversing, but when a tailender makes 40 then surely that tactic is not working. Very poor from India, and could well cost them the series.

StreetView
on December 29, 2013, 17:03 GMT

Its time to remove Rohit Sharma and replace him with Ashwin in NZ. Jadeja+Ashwin will score more runs and pick more wickets than the 'IPL Bradman' Rohit Sharma.

on December 29, 2013, 17:00 GMT

It is very clear that neither captain want to lose. It is fully understandable. Both are aware of their limitations and the opponents' strengths. They know what they are doing. Any criticism of either is unfair.

Except in pace bowling both teams are at par. But SA's pacers are miles ahead. So, if they win, I may (as an Indian) feel sad, but agree and accept the result as fully deserved and justified.

Hoping to see a good contest tomorrow.

on December 29, 2013, 17:00 GMT

india must include umesh in every overseas game though he little bit erratic but he turns the tides with his pace and movement ;!!!!

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 29, 2013, 16:58 GMT

@StarHawk
Please only comment on the last test match if you actually watched it. You clearly don't understand Test cricket and watch a lot of IPL.
SA were down to their last batsmen after Faff ran himself out. Morkel couldn't bat (injured) and Tahir is a walking wicket.

A point you conveniently failed to mention was MS Dhoni asking his seamers bowl wide and short in those last overs - and fair enough too. IF you had actually watched the game, you would have seen the ball sailing over Steyns head for a whole over. So tell me how do you expect tailenders so smack wide and short balls for 6? Its not T20, you don't get wided and no balled...

Yousufahmed1
on December 29, 2013, 16:57 GMT

@ TommytuckerSaffa How is it not biased then??? If India were gonna stop the run flow and take wickets then it was from indian spinner jadeja hence India didn't take the new ball. But he never asked Indian bowlers to bowl leg stump line to stop the run scoring. Dhoni has done what no other captains have ever done. He has all the trophies in his cabinet along with once being the best test team. Please open both of your eyes to see the truth.

bouncer709
on December 29, 2013, 16:56 GMT

Quick two wickets in first session tomorrow and India will be defeated by one inning. The way they are playing they will score 150 runs in 90 overs, and if 2 wkts fall early morning they will keeping blocking and at the end will be looking to save defeat by an innings.

devil_in_details
on December 29, 2013, 16:52 GMT

The Indian team's performance has been superb and beyond all expectations. Unfortunately our limited pace stock was exposed on a Durban pitch that did not give as much help as expected. However it is not over yet. Lets hope the weather comes to our aid on the last day. Given that it worked against us on the first day, its time for some heavenly payback falling our way ;)

on December 29, 2013, 16:51 GMT

If this young Indian team comes back with both tests drawn it will be a great achievement. (It is almost a victory in itself, since almost no one gave them any chance at all against this formidable SA attack.

on December 29, 2013, 16:50 GMT

India got stained by Steyned in the 1st innings. Most of the stain got removed by the little Sir from Sourashtra. Steyn is not the type toback out. He will everything possible to send back the Indian guests stained once again, on the last day.

on December 29, 2013, 16:49 GMT

In this test, India has effectively played with two & a half batsmen (Pujara, Kohli ... & Rahane) and one and a half bowlers (Jadeja & .. Shami). Some on training & many passengers!

Iceman29
on December 29, 2013, 16:48 GMT

Ind players should have paid their respect to Kallis similar to what WI done to Sachin....Wat an wonderful player...SA will miss him very much especially during the Aus tour...

on December 29, 2013, 16:48 GMT

MSD should have gone hård at Steyn and Kallis with the new ball even if it mean't ending up not getting the wickets.

on December 29, 2013, 16:48 GMT

Out of the bowling contingent only Jadeja & Shami has proved worthy of taking being taken for overseas tours - especially into fast tracks and fast bowlers' unassailable forts.

on December 29, 2013, 16:46 GMT

Kallis the great showed how to exit gracefully, from the international cricket. And proving how good an all-rounder he was in all depts. Gave a sample of all his skills as take home for the guests. I salute you, respectfully.

wernbrian
on December 29, 2013, 16:44 GMT

Kallis, please don't retire, at least until you 300 test and ODI wickets.

NBZ1
on December 29, 2013, 16:43 GMT

Lot of debate about Dhoni's captaincy here. The thing is, a lot of people supporting Dhoni's tactics (including Manjrekar and Cullinan) are assuming that SA were destined for 500+ and it was just a question of slowing them down. That was NOT the case at the start of play. With SA 300-5 overnight, a par score is probably about 420-30 all out even on a flattish pitch (and this one was turning a bit). Trying to slow down a "declaration push", and in doing so probably conceding 70-80 runs too many, does not sound like very smart captaincy to me. Of course the bowlers bar Jadeja were not too good, but I think not taking the new ball, even when Kallis was in his 90s does not motivate the bowlers very much.

It also puts Kallis/Steyn's batting in perspective. Going for quick runs in the morning, and losing a couple of wickets even before overtaking India, would compel the rest of the batsmen to shut down shop, and the match would be destined for a draw (whereas now a SA win remains possible).

ModernUmpiresPlz
on December 29, 2013, 16:40 GMT

@klnrao Really? Vijay is a classic opener, a good foil for Dhawan at the top of the order. Ashwin has a bit of defense and a few decent shots. One faces a new ball, one faces a rag doll. I don't think anybody who knows anything about cricket would say that Jadeja + Ashwin = Vijay's batting. This isn't an Indian dustbowl where spinners might open the bowling, this is South Africa where pitches have pace and the ball nips around. Ashwin would be toast in Vijay's spot, at least Vijay took the shine off the ball before he went.

On the subject of Kallis, I didn't appreciate him in my youth but these days I can appreciate his greatness. Surely he inspired the current SA batting lineup to be what it is now, pillars of test batting all the way down the order. When Faf is your out of form batsman on the borderline times are good. As an Australian I'm sure we'd take Faf in a heartbeat, but at least the glimmer of hope is a little less far fetched without Kallis in the lineup.

StarHawk
on December 29, 2013, 16:40 GMT

@ Albie Hanekom, you are very funny mate. When India batted well on this exact same pitch, this is an "Indian pitch"...but now that they lost 2 early wickets, you say the pitch has changed and the Indian players cannot play on lively pitches..hahaha what a joke!!!

And those who are calling Dhoni defensive and negative captain? Did you forget the Jo'Burg test match already???? When SA needed just 15 or 16 runs from 3 overs to complete a record breaking, historic win, and the Saffers played "negative and defensive" cricket and secured a draw????

ABKhanISB
on December 29, 2013, 16:39 GMT

India should request a bowling coach from Pakistan, who can work on its totally failed and mediocre bowling attack

on December 29, 2013, 16:36 GMT

Rahul Dravid would have been proud of Pujara's effort today. Just watertight. Him and Pujara would come back from this tour much better batsmen. It's a shame we our bowling is mediocre and can't backup such a good batting line up.

maheshcm
on December 29, 2013, 16:36 GMT

kallis, such a great player! 25414 international runs & 577 wickets in 515 international matches (1 days + tests + t20s, 18 years career, retiring at 38)

if 1 international wicket = 25 runs, kallis has 39839 runs against sachin's 39382 in 69 less matches.. and retiring early to give new comers a chance!

ns_krishnan
on December 29, 2013, 16:34 GMT

@klnrao: Rahane doesn't open regularly even for Mumbai. What makes you think that he would do a better job than Vijay ? As for your statistics comparing Ashwin and Vijay's batting abilities, I wonder how many runs Ashwin has scored after surviving Steyn, Morkel and Philander at the start of an innings. You cannot compare apples and oranges.

CricketChat
on December 29, 2013, 16:28 GMT

I predict SA will win this unless weather comes to the aid for Ind. The 1st session tomorrow is crucial for both side. Ind shouldn't lose any wkts before lunch and wipe out deficit as well for them to have any chance of a draw.

tabriz786
on December 29, 2013, 16:27 GMT

No one can doubt the fact that Kallis is truly a legend of the game. I have found it surprising though that nobody has had these thoughts: Kallis batted for himself and not the team. The SA top order all tried to be positive and score quickly to get a result. Kallis scored very slowly and let a weak Indian bowling attack dictate the pace. Had he batted for his team's win Sa would be in a much better position, with more time to win this game.

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 29, 2013, 16:23 GMT

This is the Achilles' heel of the South African team - SPIN. If only we had a spinner half the quality of Ashwin, we would be a more complete team.

R.Petersen is useless at spin bowling and I would like to point out that he has a horrible average of 36. JP Duminy who is in the team as a specialist batsman has an average of 38. So I have to question the selectors - whats the point of selecting a 'specialist spinner' who is about as a bad as our Part time bowler??

@sachin_vvsfan
SA is not going to win this test match by bowling Duminy and Petersen. If they are to win it will be through their pace bowling. The umpire didn't allow the SA pacers to bowl so restricting runs and then attacking tomorrow makes the most sense. MS Dhoni still is a very poor captain overseas - his decision not the take the new ball puts India in a position of having to save the game - not win it.

Dalena
on December 29, 2013, 16:22 GMT

INDIA should drop DHONI , he is unfit to play test match , Dinesh karthik or W.shah is better test players than Dhoni... Kholi or Pujara can lead Indian Team,COOMON SELECTORS GET RID IF DHONI PLZ

India shouldn't be too disheartened. It all hinges on the 1st session. If India escapes the session unscathed, we'll be in good position to draw. Mind you, scoring runs is as important as occupying the crease. Smith can't attack for long time if India wipes out SA's lead. If India bats for 75 overs scoring 200-220 runs, this match will end in draw. Pujara and Kohli showed they can setup the match, now lets see they can save it for us. Common boys, no silly cricket and panic. If India loses tomorrow, people will forget the promise shown by these young players and only talk about the defeat. Don't let that happen!

VinodGupte
on December 29, 2013, 16:20 GMT

if it rains before the game begins tomorrow morning, the ball is going do some talking. and then fivelander may take another 5-fer to wrap it up. i just hope that there is no rain and we get at least 90 overs. this will be quite a game.

mzm149
on December 29, 2013, 16:17 GMT

If rain doesn't play spoilsport, there is only one result possible now i.e. South Africa win. Even if India play 2 full sessions tomorrow ( which is highly unlikely), they are not going to give a threatening total (above 100) to chase in one session. I have a feeling we will get result by tea tomorrow.

on December 29, 2013, 16:16 GMT

Respects to Pujara. SA seamers were breathing fire. It's all the more respectable considering he wouldn't have faced anything close to Steyn and Morkel at full tilt in Domestic cricket. To survive and avoid a collapse is a brilliant effort. Lesser batsman would have grown impatient and eventually poked at one to slips or played across but not Pujara

Very disappointed with Indian fans criticizing Dhoni's captaincy. Do you think Dhoni is John Rambo who can attack and win against armies with just a bow and an arrow? Please take an honest look at Indian bowling before criticizing Dhoni. It is a miracle that he took India to no.1 in test matches and maintained the position for close to 2yrs. And now India is no.2. All in all, not too bad given India's shabby bowling resources.

on December 29, 2013, 16:06 GMT

I have never seen such type of player....really a great player......

spiritwithin
on December 29, 2013, 16:04 GMT

@Albie Hanekom,just because indian batsman performed in the test series doesn't make the pitches as indian pitches,is it so difficult to acknowledge the performance of the young and inexperienced indian batting line up?in the 1st test indian spinner didn't took a single wicket,so how does it make it indian like pitches?even in 2nd tests the spinner are not at all threatening,only reason Jadeja got 6 wicket was due to batsman trying to hit him(except in two cases).If i am a Saffa fan i will be worried that my attack is not looking threatening for major part of the test series against indian batsman many of whom are either in their first or second away tour(except for three players all the others has played less than 20tests),and if your team has such defensive mindset against this indian team then i dont see them at the top for long.Dont forget that Aus attacks will be far more hostile and they wont give you freebies Ishant or Zaheer.

bhushanB
on December 29, 2013, 16:00 GMT

A very touch ask on the last day.... now that the ball is little softer.. IND should try not to lose a wicket until the next new ball ( I know it is long long way away).... These two are the key and Rahane... so SA believes that they are 2.5 wickets away from victory....... hopefully the rest of the Batsmen would step up to the occasion...

on December 29, 2013, 16:00 GMT

Why smith have not chose to bowl with spinners on day one with the light fading and today he chose to bowl with spinner .. Isnt this a defencive/negative tactic..?? Then why blame dhoni for not taking new ball and blame it as a defencive tactic .. Smith has done the same/worse thing than that..

bhushanB
on December 29, 2013, 15:54 GMT

Dhawan should have been there by the end of the day.... fantastic catch by Faf....ended his stay...

BTW he was grimacing in pain, after taking the catch, as he landed on his knees.... none of the commentators seem to pick this up.... He was in pain, not even able to get up... he was not enjoying at that moment....

sachin_vvsfan
on December 29, 2013, 15:51 GMT

Where is TommyTuckerSaffa? Does he have anything to say about Peterson negative bowling (and umpires warning reg the same?) Sure he will now come out and say Indian players are playing negative cricket and not scoring quickly.

Al_Bundy1
on December 29, 2013, 15:46 GMT

Silly point by @Anand Kumar - I think India should go back to retro tactics, when we had Kapil Dev with Bedi, Prasanna and Chandrashekhar. Now it ll be Jadeja, Ashwin and Ojha alongwith Shami or whoever is in form.

There's a BIG problem with this approach. Jadeja, Ashwin and Ojha are nowhere near the class of Bedi, Prasanna and Chandrashekhar.

on December 29, 2013, 15:39 GMT

This match will be a draw .. Pujara is tough to get out by these SA bowlers he is looking very solid .. He will show that its not a walk in the park for them to get him out.. He will score ton tommorow and frustate the SA .. That will be very nice to see

Al_Bundy1
on December 29, 2013, 15:35 GMT

Its time to get rid of the 2 Sharmas - Ishant and Rohit. They are proven non-performers who can do well against weak teams like West Indies. Rahane is much better than Rohit. Young pace bowlers like Pankaj Singh, Imtiaz Ahmed, Ishwar Pandey, Rishi Dhawan are all better than Ishant Sharma.

on December 29, 2013, 15:27 GMT

FAF just pulled a Jonty Rhodes! FAFsolutely brilliant catch!!

pull_shot
on December 29, 2013, 15:19 GMT

Test of character for young team but only positive is SA didn't have good spinner

on December 29, 2013, 15:15 GMT

if india bats solidly n declare with a 125-150 lead at tea on day 5,it'll b interesting to see if SA goes for it.knowing Dhoni he just might. PROVIDED india saves d game first.

on December 29, 2013, 15:10 GMT

Kallis... He is the real SA hero Because of him India lost many matches but we like the way he played .This Year is not good for cricket one more legend is leaving we'll miss kallis

on December 29, 2013, 15:04 GMT

Why is South Africa even allowed to host Test cricket matches when they cannot even manage to get 10K people to watch the Tests, beats me.

There were 90K people in Melbourne to watch Australia thrash England in an already won series and the South Africans cannot even manage 10K people ??

What were their so-called cricket crazy fans doing ??

Any answers from Lorgat or Bacher or whoever else is supposed to be in charge ??

on December 29, 2013, 14:59 GMT

India will lose the match easily . poor batting will let them down

on December 29, 2013, 14:43 GMT

If India will manage to draw this match, SA have some serious questions to answer for their performance because if a No.1 team can't win at their own backyard that too against a young and inexperienced team.

Australia coming next, and for them they won't prepare green tracks for sure, because Mitchell Johnson will blow them away.

on December 29, 2013, 14:42 GMT

I think the difference in pace bowling class is evident !! More things change, more they remain the same - I think India should go back to retro tactics, when we had Kapil Dev with Bedi, Prasanna and Chandrashekhar. Now it ll be Jadeja, Ashwin and Ojha alongwith Shami or whoever is in form. With this combination, we ll win comfortably at home and certainly bowl well than what our mediocre medium pacers can do and also strengthens our batting with Ashwin at 9 so batting strengthened as well. On green tops, Kohli and Dhoni can share the responsibility of back up to our lone main spinner.

on December 29, 2013, 14:40 GMT

Pathetic captaincy from Dhoni overseas as usual. I just don't have any idea why he didn't take the new ball? If you look to play for a draw you always end up losing. We would have won the 2010 SA tour had he not gone defensive in 3rd test and in this tour he has done the same.

It is Vijay, Pujara, Kohli and Rahane that saved us in this tour, rest all look the same as they were in Eng and Australia's whitewashes.

Zaheer needs to call a press conference after this tour and hang his boots, we can't play him for his 125 kph anymore. We need to invest in young pacers who can bowl with pace for at least 30 overs per innings.

on December 29, 2013, 14:38 GMT

I rate Kallis is great. He is an allrounder of par excellence. More than 10.000 runs in both formats of the game , more than 250 wickets in Tests and ODI's ,and what more 200 test catches . Relate and analyse these wickets and catches to the context when there are better pacemen and fielders on the SA side

on December 29, 2013, 14:35 GMT

Yeah,agree with hiba.Being good at reverse shouldn't mean not being able to use a new ball.There is a refreshing change as a bold & capable new bunch has arrived in place of some players who had billed as "irreplaceable". Dhoni does not have any confidence in his own abilities as a test batsman specially outside the subcontinent,and rightly so.The fact that he bungles in selection & wants 6 batsmen apart from him plus a bowler who supposedly has batting abilities,shows how his lack of faith in his own abilities is harming team India.The next stage in India's evolution as a test side that travels well will come when a captain brings more to the table & is spot on in selection & tactics & not defensive & regressive.

on December 29, 2013, 14:26 GMT

Need to shift the captain workload feom dhoni to pujara.. It will dhoni honest and perform in overseas .. Other his record suggest that he will replaced with some other decent batter.. i.e dinesh kartik/manish pandey

BradmanBestEver
on December 29, 2013, 14:16 GMT

Kallis is the better batsman because he did not have the luxury of resting when the team was fielding.

Quite the contrary - he was a front line bowler and fielded in the slips

Al_Bundy1
on December 29, 2013, 14:14 GMT

Everything depends on Pujara and Kohli. If SA get Pujara and Kohli cheaply, their pacers can bundle out India within 166 runs. Some people on this board were belittling Steyn and Philander. They will be forced to eat their words. Our pace bowlers are nowhere near Steyn and Philander. We need to get rid of non-performers like Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma.

Leggie
on December 29, 2013, 14:06 GMT

Could not understand the tactics of Dhoni and the will for India to force the game. In test matches, if you play for a win, there is chance of a draw and if you play for a draw you will lose. Wonder how the think tank thought otherwise and the new ball was never taken - even under cloudy conditions and moisture in the air. BAFFLING is the only word one can think of. If India manage to draw the series, this will be the biggest of escapes in Test cricket. It's also quite evident that the bowling needs a shake-up. Zaheer Khan does not have the pace to trouble batsman on slower wickets, and Ishant continues to disappoint. Umesh, India's fastest bowler needs to start playing regularly and the search for a fast bowling all rounder has to start *immediately*. Ashwin needs to get back to basics and understand how to bowl on unhelpful conditions. Indians have quite a few things to get right if they are to avoid another 8-0 drubbing.

on December 29, 2013, 13:54 GMT

With SA bowling pitch looks lively just shows the gap in class. Vijay gone, Pujara and Kohli left, after having the luck of Indian like pitches reality will now hit these Indians

Hashimbaig
on December 29, 2013, 13:54 GMT

I say kallis will bounce back and he did it he is a legend for south africa if he not play well the team will be under pressure

There is no comparison between Tendulkar and Kallis. Kallis was the better 'CRICKETER'...period.....Compare him (Kallis) to another great in Gary Sobers. The best all rounder in crickets 300 plus years history.

yorkslanka
on December 29, 2013, 13:51 GMT

Already an early wicket for india,three more and they will be looking down the barrel of defeat so someone needs to dig in. Not being able to win a single match in South Africa doesn't bode well..

bhushanB
on December 29, 2013, 13:49 GMT

40+ from Steyn, 60+ from Peterson.... thats what turned the match in SA favor.. The match was even-stevens withouts these two contributions.....
Time for IND batsmen to step up and bat through......

Go India Go

on December 29, 2013, 13:46 GMT

No need for Smith to declare. They are bowledout. Just over 150 runs lead. If Indian openers apply themselves and bat till 100 runs partnership, then Pujara, Kohli and Rahane will make sure we climb to a safe mark. We need to score above 400 to be safe abd draw this match. I do't see India winning this match..But goingby Steyns form this match India will not bat till last ball of the last day. Most probably we Indian fans will be chewing lot of nails tomorrow..

The million $ question is can our batsmen putup atleast 150 runs target for the SA batsmen ?

sumit1982
on December 29, 2013, 13:45 GMT

IF India lose these test match, it is all fault by coach and Indian captain.
First playing with 3 fast blower in Durban rather going for 4.
Second giving rest to your premier spinner(Ashwin) who has taking fastest 100 wicket in test match.

on December 29, 2013, 13:29 GMT

Will be interesting to see if SA bowlers extract life out of this pitch considering they are fresh and have a great incentive of winning a test match. India will need one more good effort from batters - what they have managed to do very well so far.

bhushanB
on December 29, 2013, 13:28 GMT

Who ever saves the game for IND today will be an instant Hero..... Dhawan, Rohit, Jadeja, Dhoni.... must be relishing such an opportunity.....

piyo_thanda_jiyo_thanda
on December 29, 2013, 13:27 GMT

Kallis is easily among the top 10 batsmen to come out in the last 15-20 yrs. A reasonable ranking could be: Tendulkar, Ponting, Lara, Dravid, Pietersen, Cook, Steve Waugh, Kallis, Dhoni, Laxman. Each guy a legend in his own way.

docarw
on December 29, 2013, 13:25 GMT

Criticise Smith all you like. lets see what you have to say tomorrow after SA win this match. Its ours for the taking now. The pitch will be nasty tomorrow, there is moisture in the air. Look what happened when we upped the run rate - we lost wickets. JK played a great knock. So did AB. And all those trying to compare Tendulkar to Kallis - I have one question - how many wickets did Sachin take? I care not who was a better batsman - they are both great. But as an all round cricketer, Sachin was half of what Kallis is.

piyo_thanda_jiyo_thanda
on December 29, 2013, 13:20 GMT

SA leading by 166 runs now. Very disappointed with the Indian bowlers. There is a lot of spin and reverse swing on offer, but still SA get to 500 runs. Zaheer is bowling a 125 KMs/hr. What a joke. Zaheer needs to go for sure. Umesh Yadav can be groomed and given consistent chances.

And how can Ashwin be called an "all rounder"? And if he is all rounder, who is the strike bowler in this team? India needs to play a specialist spinner. Currently Ojha is the best bet for test matches.

Nohit Sharma will be given another 100 test matches to cement his position, like he was given 100 odd one day matches. Dinesh Karthik will need to start playing for Mumbai to be able to get that many chances in the Indian team.

India2014
on December 29, 2013, 13:19 GMT

Leaving out Ashwin in a spin friendly track is the worst decision Dhoni has taken in a long time. We are going to lose this match because of that one decision. Dhoni didn't analyze the pitch correctly.

Giant-Guru
on December 29, 2013, 13:19 GMT

Never saw a more pessimistic approach from a Indian Captain, so much so that he had no faith in his quicks and decided not to take a new ball when it was 65+ overs overdue. And what happened in the process of slowing down the game conceded a lead of 163. A negative minded person like Dhoni have no right to lead the Indian cricket team. Thing Big if you want to be remembered as a good captain.

on December 29, 2013, 13:17 GMT

All these years - for most problems Kallis would have been the solution for SA. Back Up Seamers, Bat at the top order, hold up one end, bat on difficult pitches, field in slips, field in the outfield. I think he even opened bowling in 99 World cup. One stop solution to many problems. So post Kallis - welcome to our world SA wondering if 4 bowlers is too little and 5 bowlers too much!!

gsingh7
on December 29, 2013, 13:17 GMT

sa definitely have draw on their minds. why wud smith declare so late in day 4 when he already knows that indian batsmen have batted atleast 100 overs in every innings so far on this test. he knows that by declaring so late india wud not be able to get advantage of 4th innings bowling on turning track. remember sa lost last 3 tests they played on the same ground. by this defensive tactics sa will find it hard to hold on to number 1 spot in tests for long.

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 29, 2013, 13:14 GMT

SA will be aiming to get at least 3 wickets before Stumps..as we have seen, once you get past the first 6 batsmen its easy from there. Can India survive..

on December 29, 2013, 13:10 GMT

dont know where it came from??? SA is number 1 team and also India is not a minnow. All teams have their own strategies according to situation. Its so easy to sit and watch and then criticize any team for any reason bur matter of fact is that all team play for win or atleast for pride. And as a cricket fan I enjoy every bit even silly mistakes by cricketers.I have a huge respect for Kallis what he has achieved in his carrer as well as in this series. true cricketer of his generation. And mind you I am a Indian saying this coz Kallis earned every cricket fan's respect.

Arrow011
on December 29, 2013, 13:10 GMT

@Harmony111 - You are quite right, Kallis wanted to overtake Dravid by scoring 113 runs, so he made 115. This is the best he could do in the top rungetters list, he is still over 2,000 runs behind Sachin so he completed his target of overtaking Dravid's tally. He is known as a selfish cricketer & he offered almost no assistance to his batting partners also. He was always like, I, me & myself. You can see the poor reception in final test at home, so bad. No wonder all the 18 years no SAF selector made him a captain even by mistake, he did captain a bilateral one day series against India & Sachin scored 200* not out in that series, first ever 200 in ODIs.

Dhoni need not be glorified for his test captaincy skills abroad. 1. He makes mistake of selecting Rohit sharma (who has no decent score in ODIs also against big opposition teams, his best scores are against windies at home), he never was a test player. 2. Ashwin should have played in place of rohit. 3. Dhoni should bat at 5 always.

sanhan
on December 29, 2013, 13:08 GMT

Brilliant platform laid by the SA batsmen after the early dismissals yesterday. How many times in the past has Kallis walked in, stabilized the situation and then acted as the catalyst to start exerting pressure on the opposing side?Many "fundis" tell us that SA are playing negative cricket, but they didn't have to face any bowling on that pitch while being behind. This match is not over yet, although the weather is an imposing factor. However, I am sure that there is a growing conviction in the SA locker room that their plan is falling into place that batting against them will be a daunting, yet doable, task. Intrigueing sessions left.

on December 29, 2013, 13:07 GMT

Kallis' ton was laboured but made sure that SA can't lose. A great among other greats is hanging up his boots. Applause for him is the best way to remember him and his cricket.

on December 29, 2013, 13:05 GMT

South Africa has been very defensive by holding back the declaration. They will have themselves to blame if they fail to win this test. Was the Kallis farewell century bigger than the quest for victory? Its possible that India will fold up quickly, but by now they have shown enough gumption to hang in there, so maybe SA has missed a trick here

alipk52
on December 29, 2013, 12:53 GMT

India Petersoned! simple's that, his cameo has done a fair bit of damage here, Jadeja's inability to take wickets even on a turning pitch against quality sides shows why he doesn't deserves number one spot in any form of cricket, Even Hafeez is better than him if conditions are spinner friendly, 56 overs he bowled and took just 5 wickets? yes it's right he contained SA, but he was included as wicket taking option, not as container, Ojha would have been far better than him had he got chance.

Testcricketistop
on December 29, 2013, 12:50 GMT

South Africa achieved their number one status by playing certain tactics.

They play to win series, their tactics therefor change deoending the match and series situation.

We currently have a 2.75 win/loss ratio for the past 6 years, clearly better than any other team, and as a result we have lost only 1 test series during that time.

Criticise all you want, we play to win in our way, let other teams play their way.

on December 29, 2013, 12:41 GMT

hakuna and all you Indian doubters, listen here. This is test cricket. Sa are playing for a win. Kallis stabilised the innings and tge others moved it on. Tomorrow the bowlers will win in. Thats test cricket. First you make sure you dont lose, then you set about winning it. Its not 1 day cricket.

tao585
on December 29, 2013, 12:41 GMT

Sachin's 74 in his last innings is much greater display of skill than Kallis Hundred for 2 reasons

1. Kallis is 2 1/2 years younger than Sachin
2. Kallis 100 is against the weaker opponent.

BradmanBestEver
on December 29, 2013, 12:37 GMT

Kallis is clearly the best batsman of the past 25 years - no doubt about it

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 29, 2013, 12:26 GMT

@Harmony111
Your comments continue to make us laugh. Thankfully I know your views dont represent 99% of Indian fans. When Smith does something wrong, I as an SA fan, criticize it but you seem paint a rosy picture of the Indian team being faultless.

JH Kallis was struggling out there because the pitch was spinning and Jadeja was bowling well. To belittle such a legend of cricket on his final innings smacks of ignorance. He played his part perfectly keeping the batting stable while others played around him.

Dhoni was wrong not to take the new ball yesterday to attack Steyn and now he has been forced to take it with two set batsmen in (Faff and Petersen)
And finally SA current run rate is over 3. Not sure where you get your numbers from...

Preeteshd
on December 29, 2013, 12:26 GMT

The defensive tactics of SA are really clear. Fist make sure we can't loos and then if possible, try and achieve a victory. Such a shame going so slow in the first session (95 runs of 35 overs). SA might still achieve a win or may not, but come on! You need to play the game without any fear in mind. One would back Steyn to run through a side in SA under cloudy conditions but each and every time he fails to do that (which is quiet natural) SA goes on defensive. Play like No. 1 side guys. No shame in win or lose, important thing is the way you play. Indian people also criticised their team when they played really poorly in ENG & AUS last time. We also expect SA to show the world why they are No. 1 team in the world.

yuvi_gladiator
on December 29, 2013, 12:25 GMT

not sure why SA fans are trying so hard. nobody challenged that they were the better team, even indian fans were backing them to bundle the inexperienced indian team inside 3 days. they underestimated india and were pushed to the limits in the 1st test and even the second before india got unlucky with the bad light, but the biggest challenge was for young indian batsman to show even without a practice game how they were better than the previous generation and they have already proven it.

Murali_the_greatest
on December 29, 2013, 12:20 GMT

Although Jadeja has taken 5 wickets in 56 overs on a spinning pitch, the reality is that if Ashwin had bowled on this track he may have taken 5 wickets in a lot fewer overs and India might be better placed currently. In retrospect India should have played both Ashwin and Jadeja. Regardless, for me Ashwin is both a better test bowler and a better test batsman than Jadeja. It's useless to compare Ahswin's performance on a non-turner in Jo'berg with Jadeja's performance here.

mzm149
on December 29, 2013, 12:19 GMT

Yesterday I predicted Robin Peterson will play important role to take lead to 150. Now it's his turn with the ball to contain India under whatever the lead they take.

yuvi_gladiator
on December 29, 2013, 12:09 GMT

so dhoni trusted his fast bowlers to let him down if he takes the new ball and they handsomely repaid his faith by getting thrashed with it. said it before the series, india's fast bowling is going to be the main challenge, now onus will be on batsman to save the test. if india does drew this test it will be big confidence boost before the Nz tour which will be tough too, bowling needs improvement but these are the best bowlers we have got in the country unfortunately.

Harmony111
on December 29, 2013, 12:08 GMT

SA were bowling round the wicket & on the body on Day 1 when the light was poor. Wasn't that poor sportsmanship? SA clearly wanted play to stop at that time cos they were completely rattled & out of ideas. But it was defended as being part of SA's tactics.

Similarly, India are entitled to decide when to take the new ball & when not to. They got their own tactics, right? So how is this wrong but what SA did was right?

Moreover, SA are scoring at 2.95 RPO, SLOWER than India's 2.99 & ppl say India are playing for draw while SA playing for a win?

Kallis got a 100, ok well played but look at his SR - 36 !!!
SA fans were unanimous & vociferous earlier that this is a FLAT pitch.
So on a FLAT pitch AT HOME, facing utterly weak Indian bowling, Kallis crawl to a 100 !!!

1. Probably Kallis was playing for his 100.

2. Or Kallis lacked the ability to score quickly even against such weak bowlers.

3. Or SA asked him to play safe to secure a draw.

on December 29, 2013, 12:05 GMT

Bad Indian bowling is getting exposed. Dhoni no strategist and poor selector at least at overseas. Batsmen should save the game/series for India now. They can't surely win the game as our bowling failed as an unit.

AidanFX
on December 29, 2013, 12:04 GMT

Ridiculous SA - They should have declared 90 runs ago - if they really have the best bowling attack in the world - back the bowlers to get India out for 150. Weak Cricket.

Preeteshd
on December 29, 2013, 12:04 GMT

It's prooved now that Robin Peterson is much better batsman than Alviro Peterson :)

on December 29, 2013, 12:02 GMT

its a ball man...chill let Dhoni try whatever he wants to try...its not a fast bowlers paradise mate..let him try his spinner..great going team India

x_lnc
on December 29, 2013, 11:48 GMT

South Africa has a good chance to win with a day to spare it should declare right away

on December 29, 2013, 11:47 GMT

i sense a draw coming on. proudly broughy to u by a slow batting FAF

on December 29, 2013, 11:43 GMT

I don't think it was a very nice tactic by kallis to go at 2 rpo yesterday but have a look at what happened today- the Indians have played this game right into the hands of the Africans! if they can't get guys like steyn and Peterson out early then they truly deserve to lose... no shame in admitting that our pace battery is getting worse by the day ... dhoni can say all that he want about ishant but he s just too inconsistent for test cricket.. zaheer had confounded many with his strange ways and shami for one can be pardoned for its his first abroad assignment and he s not done as badly as the other two... jadeja gave it his all but he was always waging a lone battle and u can't expect a guy to bowl 70 overs in an innings! thorough letdown by the pacers :( hope umesh and Aaron are brought back into contention because military medium pace s just not going to work unless its absolutely pin point accurate!

Arrow011
on December 29, 2013, 11:40 GMT

I would rate Dhoni as the worst captain in tests abroad, right from the start he selected Rohit & omitted Ashwin. Rohit has always been a minnow basher in home conditions, he has poor record as a ODI batsman also apart from West Indies. How is he being asked to play in tests? What is Dhoni's seniority for? Why can't Dhoni follow Kohli at 5? Dhoni has always chickened out when playing tests abroad. Ashwin is rated as world's no. 1 all rounder, he should have been an automatic choice despite his poor 1st test. Dhoni now is ruing his decision to have played only 1 spinner in Jadeja (who should always be in the 11), the playing 11 should have been. Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Virat, Dhoni (C), Ajinkya, Ashwin, Jadeja, Ishant, Zaheer & Shami. Change the pacemen but always play Jadeja & Ashwin round the world. They both can bat so there is an advantage also. On 4th day morning new ball should have been taken when the bowlers afresh, not when tea is approaching, a real poor captain.

on December 29, 2013, 11:29 GMT

This will be a tame draw.. Isnt SA kniw about bad light cone into play in sone time today and tommorow and with 140 overs left in the match from which 15-20 overs will be consumed by SA for 150 lead ..now atleast 25-30 overs will be lost due to bad light now from 100 overs if india able to play 80 thay would make 250 .. And i think thay will ..what they are hoping for??? To make 100 runs in 20 overs oh come on SA you should have done this in last match if you were capable of.. Its a draw .. Mark my words

on December 29, 2013, 11:18 GMT

Ravinda Jadeja. What is India going to do about him. He's no doubt a top class batsman who averages 50 in First Class cricket with three triple centuries and an average of 50. Yet he bats at 8 in test cricket. India needsto find some way to get him up their batting order. Yes u read that Right ...3 300's in first clas cricket.

on December 29, 2013, 11:13 GMT

india have been playing poor cricket. they will lose

Delmeister
on December 29, 2013, 11:13 GMT

Pathetic India, negative in first test and negative again today ... can't defend Dhoni for not taking the new ball, what must his poor bowlers think? India number one? Never again.

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 29, 2013, 11:09 GMT

SA stepping on the gas here, Dhoni still hasnt taken the new ball and the wheels have come off for Ishant.

on December 29, 2013, 11:02 GMT

india will have a bunch of critics no matter what they do. what was negative in persisting with the old ball esp since jadeja was getting turn and shami was getting reverse swing. if you dont like the indian dispensation thats fine. but they cant be criticised everytime they set foot on the field. it is a fact that the indians have performed creditably in s.a and proved a lot of their critics wrong.

Fijicricket
on December 29, 2013, 10:57 GMT

Finally - SA wins one session! Congratulations!

Fijicricket
on December 29, 2013, 10:55 GMT

@alcapoon on (December 29, 2013, 10:30 GMT) Thanks for admitting that "India is on back foot since day3" -which means finally SA won one session on day four! In the last test SA won 2 last sessions on the last day out of 15 sessions! Some achievement!
Congratulations!

SLslider
on December 29, 2013, 10:54 GMT

@ alcapoon Rain was already on the cards and if India draws it we all know India would have done very well specially all the speculations before the series started. Its SA who have played negative cricket from day 1 when they could have bowled their spinners but they didn't and bad light was given. It was right tactic from SA as they were on the back foot and if overs would have completed they know India would have crossed 250 on day 1. And even yesterday Indian bowlers bowled their overs quickly and didn't use any negative tactic to not bowl enough overs. Why would Dhoni take the new ball and allow SA to score when they are already ahead. It was SA's job to take the game ahead when there is rain forcast. But they didn't they played negatively through the session a runrate of 2. something. Kallis was playing for his hundred. Period

Smahuta
on December 29, 2013, 10:50 GMT

Kallis gets a ton in his last innings. Not even the great tendulkar could do that! Well done Kallis, showing he is the greatest cricketer ever to have graced the surface of this earth. Now SA need to press he advantage and get some quick runs before letting Steyn Morkel and Philander loose to create some havoc in Indias last knock in this short series.

on December 29, 2013, 10:46 GMT

SA criticised for not trying to win in the last few overs on the 1st test. I'm on the side of those who say India were poor in not looking for the win. Negative bowling and fielders in the boundary. Not the way to get last few wickets.

In this test too India showing their toothlessness. 130+ overs in, batsmen comfortable and India still won't take the new ball to try to force a wicket.

on December 29, 2013, 10:46 GMT

Its strange tactists from dhoni not to take new ball. All in all negative cricket from both sides in second consective test. This is why most people dont like test cricket.

anton1234
on December 29, 2013, 10:44 GMT

Makes complete sense the way SA played in the morning session. They want to ensure they play till tea with a lead of approximately 150 and then try and get India out by tea tomorrow and leave themselves around 100 to get in the final session.

on December 29, 2013, 10:42 GMT

old is gold. south Africa will miss him a lot when there ll be no more of him in the team, especially in test cricket squad .

on December 29, 2013, 10:40 GMT

couldnt help but be emotional as I watched an Icon and role model we have looked up to for 18years bow out in the manner he has. I have one clear memory of when I was in primary school and had my cricket bat autographed by one JH Kallis and Daryll Cullinan in Port Elizabeth.
Back to the game, no one can fault our batsman for the slow rate. Its been a battle of stratergy and skill. Kallis batted with caution as he had a night watchmen with him, a detiriorating pitch and a ball that was not a ball anymore.
On the other side MS Dhoni was doing all he can to get the best out of the d ball which was offering spin and reverse swing. However i still feel not taking the new ball after 30minutes will bite India. Shami and Zaheer have enough skill to cause problems. Now India face the risk of having a pumped up Proteas bowling attack go at full steam under grey skies, moist breeze and a pitch thats finally offering assistance and will do more so undrr the heavy roller for a day and a half. THIS IS TEST CRICKET

Protears
on December 29, 2013, 10:35 GMT

Someone toss the Indians their sponge back and lets get the game going again. Whatever MS Dhoni is thinking with not taking the new ball is pretty baffling if not borderline stupid, India may have had another new ball up soon but clearly that is stalling tactics to ensure this fizzles out into a draw.

As for Kallis, goes out on top of his game unlike Tendulkar who was forced to retire, even at the Wanderers he was driving out the middle of the bat shows that its just form related but Kallis is far from done as a test calibre player. Sobers and Kallis easily make the greatest test team of all time.

kalyanbk
on December 29, 2013, 10:34 GMT

The year '13 has seen the retirement of some of the all time greats of the game. Tendulkar, Michael Hussey, Graeme Swann and now Jacques Kallis. Even Dravid and Ponting retired from IPL T20 this year not to mention Dilshan. Had it not been for the West Indies series, Sachin and Kallis would have retired in the same match. Truly the end of an era and moving on from one generation to another. Suddenly one feels much older and empty.

on December 29, 2013, 10:31 GMT

What a way to bid farewell to test cricket! Splendid. There's no doubt he is the greatest all rounder of his time and in my opinion the greatest after Sir Garfield Sobers.

alcapoon
on December 29, 2013, 10:30 GMT

At lunch. There are only 2 results possible now Draw or South Africa winning this match. Well played to Kallis. India played really boring and frustrating cricket by not taking the new ball first thing in the morning. Now by the looks of it they have already surrendered that they can't win. Still 150+ overs left in this match. SA can bat for the next 30 and can get a lead of 175-225 while India is on back foot since day 3 will have to do some faffing to save this test or pray for rain.

on December 29, 2013, 10:30 GMT

SA is playing for a draw. dint expect this from no. 1 team.

on December 29, 2013, 10:12 GMT

We'll batted from Kali's after 1 year
Steyn you miss your chance made century against these bowlers

anupkeni
on December 29, 2013, 18:59 GMT

Ultra-defensive batting could backfire for Team India. South Africa are effectively only 3 wickets away from victory as Pujara, Kohli and Rahane are the only Indian batsmen who have batted well in this series and are in good form. Once South Africa gets the fifth Indian wicket, a victory for South Africa will become inevitable as Rohit, Dhoni and India's lower order are like sitting ducks for Steyn, Morkel and Philander anyway.

on December 29, 2013, 17:49 GMT

To win a test match, you need to take 20 wickets. And for that, you need quality bowlers, which, India lack. Jadeja bowled really well but face the reality, this is one of the most spin-friendly pitch outside sub-continent. Never expect such from any of the tours coming up. India batsmen sure proved themselves (atleast some of them) but, they alone aren't going to win them any.

on December 29, 2013, 17:44 GMT

Swing bowling is not going to work in South Africa and Australia. Its Pace, pace and pace. We(india) need bowlers who can consistently bowl 140 kph and swing the ball. Dhoni has to stop waiting for Batsmen to make a mistake. Don't think waiting game will work in bowling. Field placements should be brilliant as you can also make a batsmen get out in mid wicket, square leg for the kind of bowlers India have. Steve Waugh did it with Damien Fleming who was not quicker through the air. At least selected Jadeja which was a good decision who was quicker though the air.

on December 29, 2013, 10:12 GMT

We'll batted from Kali's after 1 year
Steyn you miss your chance made century against these bowlers

on December 29, 2013, 10:30 GMT

SA is playing for a draw. dint expect this from no. 1 team.

alcapoon
on December 29, 2013, 10:30 GMT

At lunch. There are only 2 results possible now Draw or South Africa winning this match. Well played to Kallis. India played really boring and frustrating cricket by not taking the new ball first thing in the morning. Now by the looks of it they have already surrendered that they can't win. Still 150+ overs left in this match. SA can bat for the next 30 and can get a lead of 175-225 while India is on back foot since day 3 will have to do some faffing to save this test or pray for rain.

on December 29, 2013, 10:31 GMT

What a way to bid farewell to test cricket! Splendid. There's no doubt he is the greatest all rounder of his time and in my opinion the greatest after Sir Garfield Sobers.

kalyanbk
on December 29, 2013, 10:34 GMT

The year '13 has seen the retirement of some of the all time greats of the game. Tendulkar, Michael Hussey, Graeme Swann and now Jacques Kallis. Even Dravid and Ponting retired from IPL T20 this year not to mention Dilshan. Had it not been for the West Indies series, Sachin and Kallis would have retired in the same match. Truly the end of an era and moving on from one generation to another. Suddenly one feels much older and empty.

Protears
on December 29, 2013, 10:35 GMT

Someone toss the Indians their sponge back and lets get the game going again. Whatever MS Dhoni is thinking with not taking the new ball is pretty baffling if not borderline stupid, India may have had another new ball up soon but clearly that is stalling tactics to ensure this fizzles out into a draw.

As for Kallis, goes out on top of his game unlike Tendulkar who was forced to retire, even at the Wanderers he was driving out the middle of the bat shows that its just form related but Kallis is far from done as a test calibre player. Sobers and Kallis easily make the greatest test team of all time.

on December 29, 2013, 10:40 GMT

couldnt help but be emotional as I watched an Icon and role model we have looked up to for 18years bow out in the manner he has. I have one clear memory of when I was in primary school and had my cricket bat autographed by one JH Kallis and Daryll Cullinan in Port Elizabeth.
Back to the game, no one can fault our batsman for the slow rate. Its been a battle of stratergy and skill. Kallis batted with caution as he had a night watchmen with him, a detiriorating pitch and a ball that was not a ball anymore.
On the other side MS Dhoni was doing all he can to get the best out of the d ball which was offering spin and reverse swing. However i still feel not taking the new ball after 30minutes will bite India. Shami and Zaheer have enough skill to cause problems. Now India face the risk of having a pumped up Proteas bowling attack go at full steam under grey skies, moist breeze and a pitch thats finally offering assistance and will do more so undrr the heavy roller for a day and a half. THIS IS TEST CRICKET

on December 29, 2013, 10:42 GMT

old is gold. south Africa will miss him a lot when there ll be no more of him in the team, especially in test cricket squad .

anton1234
on December 29, 2013, 10:44 GMT

Makes complete sense the way SA played in the morning session. They want to ensure they play till tea with a lead of approximately 150 and then try and get India out by tea tomorrow and leave themselves around 100 to get in the final session.

on December 29, 2013, 10:46 GMT

Its strange tactists from dhoni not to take new ball. All in all negative cricket from both sides in second consective test. This is why most people dont like test cricket.